Denial is the new black
by ambiencealikw
Summary: Draco stumbles upon Harry bathing and begins to see him in a new light. He pursues his feelings but must first convince Harry to let go of his denial. Fate is constantly pushing them together and eventually something must give. Slash Harry & Draco fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**Denial is the new black**

**[Harry Potter and all of it's characters belong to J.K Rowling, not me. This is a non-profit fanfiction based on her world]**

***

**Chapter 1: Truce**

Draco walked through the dark corridor silently, enjoying the solitude of a sleeping castle. Such moments were rare, and as such, were much more beautiful for it. He had just finished his prefect rounds, parting with Pansy in the Slytherin Common Room. It had been a relatively quiet night, but Wednesday's generally were. It was the middle of the week, halfway between the previous weekend and the next. Students were too busy writing essays, reading textbooks and perfecting spells to wander the gloomy halls of Hogwarts castle.

He enjoyed Wednesday patrols the most because he and Pansy always finished their rounds quickly, leaving him plenty of time for a long, relaxing bath in the Prefects secret bathroom. He was never interrupted, allowing him time to think things over.

The Slytherin entrance to the bathroom was located in between the Potions classroom and the Slytherin common room. Guarding it was a large painting of the Garden of Eden. Draco had always thought it ironic that not only had a wizard created a portrait of such a plebeian muggle concept but had also seen fit to place it amidst the halls of the primary pureblood faction of the school.

Shrugging, Draco stroked his finger along the snake hidden in the branches of the tree, whispering the password "_Tempt me not_". With a creak, the portrait swung open, leading him into a private stall where he could stow away his clothes. He undressed quickly and quietly, folding his expensive clothes neatly and placing them carefully in a locker. Wrapping his towel around his slim waist he opened the door and allowed his eyes to flit appreciatively around the bathroom.

It was an elegant room, with the trimmings of the various houses adorning the high, white walls. Hanging from the only blank wall was a large tapestry of the Hogwarts founders and Draco took a moment, as always, to admire it. The four founders stood proud and strong; Helga Hufflepuff was staring straight at him, a small smile on her face, Rowena Ravenclaw was scribbling away on parchment, looking up every now and again to frown at him, and Godric Gryffindor was glaring at him, a sneer adorning his mouth. Finally, his attention slipped over to Salazar Slytherin, his distant ancestor. He was currently ignoring Draco completely, looking past him with an amused smirk.

Turning, Draco sought out the object of Slytherin's regard, and immediately slunk back into his cubicle, his eyes wide. In the large pool that dominated the majority of the room was his arch-nemesis, Harry Potter. The tanned Gryffindor boy was currently floating on top of the water with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of his audience. Draco's mind raced as his eyes drunk in Harry's naked body in awe and surprise.

He was floating on his back, his powerful arms locked behind his head, holding his face about the water. His ebony locks clung to the sides of his head, wet, it was long enough to fall against his neck. His upper body was smooth and slender, and Draco's eyes swept over it, eagerly noting the tight muscles of his abdomen. Finally, with an uncharacteristic blush, he feasted upon the sight of Harry's manhood nestled within a bush of curly black hair.

Draco shut his eyes tightly, but the vision of Harry naked did not leave his mind. Shaking his head furiously he closed the door, his hands pressed hard against his temples. He could not, _would not _be attracted to Harry Potter. It was unthinkable, impossible. He clothed himself angrily and rushed from the room, determined to push the temptation to open the door and join Harry in the bath from his mind.

Malfoys did not have fantasies about other men, especially goody-goody Gryffindor men with a stubborn penchant for saving the world. It just would not do! He slammed the portrait door open, stalking off in search of Pansy. Surely she would know what to do about these ridiculous feelings welling up inside of him and how to banish Potter's naked form from his mind!

***

"Pansy!" He yelled, hammering on her door desperately. "Pansy, open the door!" He pressed his forehead against the door, squeezing his eyes shut as he listened to Pansy move around the room. Finally, she opened the door, wrapped up in an emerald silk nightgown. Draco noted cynically that it was the exact shade of Harry's mesmerising eyes. He was so screwed.

"Draco, what is it? What's wrong?" She asked him in concern. Wordlessly, Draco slid past her into his room and settled himself on her lavish bed. Pansy had a room of her own, paid for by her rich and powerful father. It was compact but it reflected her personality perfectly.

No-one in the entirety of Hogwarts knew her as well as he did. They only knew her mask; the sarcastic Slytherin princess, with a grating laugh and biting wit.

In reality, Pansy was a caring and loyal friend, intelligent, funny and observant. She had been his best friend for a very long time. Their parents had always thrust them together, hoping that they would come to love each other, though he had never felt that way about her. Pansy was his confidant, his best friend, his sister. She would always be there to help him in times of distress, such as now.

"Draco," she said quietly, sitting down beside him, pulling his hands into her own delicate palms. "Tell me why you're here at nearly midnight hammering on my door. Why are you so upset? I've never seen you like this." She stroked his hand reassuringly and he looked up into her caring brown eyes.

"Something happened," he whispered, "I don't know what to do. Pansy, you have to help me." He entreated her with wide, terrified eyes.

"Of course, Draco. What's bothering you?" She asked him, squeezing his hand.

"I went to the bathroom, same as always," he began, looking away from her, blushing as he remembered what had occurred.

"Of course," she replied. "You always have a bath on Wednesdays; you say it helps to clear your mind.

"Yeah well, it had the complete opposite effect today. I didn't get to have my bath. There was someone else there," Draco explained. Pansy frowned, wondering why he had let that stop him.

"Who was it? Why didn't you just tell them to leave?" She questioned him. He turned red and looked down at their entwined hands, his silver locks hiding his expression from her piercing gaze.

"It was Harry Potter. He didn't see me, his eyes were closed and he was floating on top of the water. All I could do was just stare at his naked body, and then I ran away," he whispered, biting his lip in embarrassment. Pansy gasped, completely floored. From what Draco had said and the way he was acting, it seemed as though he had feelings for Harry.

"You... were staring at him? Do you like men? Do you like him?" Pansy questioned, her breathless voice betraying her shock.

"I... I don't know. I just couldn't stop looking, I was checking out Harry Potter for Merlin's sake! What on Earth am I supposed to do?" He asked her, his eyes pleading for her to have all the answers. She shook her head and stood up, walking away from him. She stopped in front of a photo on the wall and studied it.

It was of her and Draco, taken during the previous holidays. She had been so happy then, spending time alone with him. Pansy had hoped that he was finally starting to show interest in her, that this year would be the year he would fall for her. But now, it seemed that he might actually be gay. She had to help him and keep the truth from him; she needed to be his friend. Burying her love for him away, she made a decision.

"Ok," she said firmly, turning around to look at him, "what you need to do is get to know him. Decide if it's just lust, hormones ruling your adolescent mind or whether it's something deeper. You don't need to rush into this just because you think you might like Harry. Take your time, Draco." Pansy counselled, smiling at him.

He smiled back, and then ran a hand through his immaculate pale blonde hair. "Right," he agreed. "Get to know him, explore these feelings, and take my time. Got it. Thanks Pans." He stood up, pulling her close in a rare hug.

"What would I do without you, Pansy Parkinson?" He mused into her long black hair. She laughed bitterly, pulling back to stare up into his pale face.

"I shudder at the thought, Draco. Now, go to bed. You've interrupted my beauty sleep long enough," she said, still smiling as she pushed him out the door.

"Goodnight Pansy," Draco said, waving one hand in farewell. She watched him walk away, her eyes brimming with tears. Finally, she needed to accept what, deep down, she had always known. Draco was not, and would never be hers. Shutting the door quietly, she climbed into bed and blew out her bedside candle.

***

The next day, Draco rolled out of bed and began his regular morning routine. First a shower, then many complicated hair spells until it sat back into its usual slicked back perfection. Finally, he stood in front of his wardrobe wearing only a towel and holding a steaming mug of premium coffee.

Using his wand he lazily skimmed through his collection, deciding finally on his finest black pants, white silk shirt and form-fitting grey sweater. Over this he wore his school robe and Slytherin green tie. Draco stood in front of his mirror, admiring his reflection. Today, he needed to look especially good if he wanted to begin his 'make Harry Potter notice me and fall desperately in love with me' campaign.

Pleased with his appearance, he finished his coffee and made his way down into the common room where Crabbe and Goyle were waiting for him. After exchanging the usual pleasantries with his fellow Slytherins, he sat down on a couch and settled in to wait for Pansy.

As he waited, he looked around the Slytherin common room, with its stylish marble arches, plush cream carpet and tasteful leather couches. Everything about the room screamed class and an inordinate amount of money.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Pansy finally appeared and they four Slytherins made their way out to the Great Hall. It had always pleased Draco that it took them only a few moments to reach it as opposed to the rest of the castle, who all lived at least ten minutes from the Hall. It allowed him a few minutes of solitude in which to eat his breakfast before the rabble of Hogwarts descended upon them.

Sitting quietly, Draco got stuck into his full English breakfast while listening to the Slytherin's inane chatter around him. From time to time, his eyes drifted from the Gryffindor table to the door, waiting for Harry to enter. He was more than halfway through his meal before the Golden Trio finally walked through the door and over to the Gryffindor seats.

First was Ron Weasley, a lanky red-headed boy with more freckles than galleons, demonstrated by his tatty maroon sweater and second-hand robe. Draco had never had any patience for the blood traitor, such a disgrace to the pureblood ways. Following him was Hermione Granger, Harry's muggle-born friend. As usual she sported the traditional school uniform, frizzy brown hair and a loud mouth spurting out a hundred words a second.

Finally, he turned his attention towards Harry, using his new perspective to study him. Harry was tall, with messy raven locks and deep emerald pools that were framed by thick lashes. His skin was tanned and free of blemishes and he had a long, graceful neck. His body was lean and muscled, kept trim by hours of Quidditch training. His clothes, although plain, fit him well, seeming to cling to his frame in what Draco perceived as a seductive manner. He wondered how he had never noticed how absolutely gorgeous Harry was before.

Frowning, he looked down at his plate, trying to decipher the feelings welling up inside of him; happiness at seeing Harry, desire for his attention and gorgeous body, shame at his feelings and fear that Harry might reject him if he learnt of them.

Pansy, noticing his glum expression, nudged his arm and smiled at him supportively. He smiled back, feeling better for knowing that she always had his back. Still smiling, he continued his breakfast and watched Harry eating his own, wondering if he would ever have a chance to be with him.

***

"Mate," Ron muttered to Harry between mouthfuls, "Malfoy has been staring at you for at least the past ten minutes." Startled, Harry looked over at the Slytherin table, his emerald eyes connecting with those of the pale Slytherin boy. For an immeasurable amount of time they looked at each other, and Harry shuddered at the look in the boys eyes.

Throughout the many years that he had been acquainted with Draco Malfoy he had come to know him quite well. He kept his emotions hidden with precise control; his face was a mask that never betrayed his thoughts. From studying the Slytherin and trying to provoke him, he had discovered how much the boy expressed with his eyes. Draco's eyes had always told him when he had hit the right mark.

From his observation, Harry could quite easily read Draco's emotions; anger, amusement, boredom, happiness, confusion. Now, however, Harry could not get a hold on the emotion in Malfoy's eyes. It seemed to flicker between confusion, shame, and something else that he didn't quite understand. Confused, he studied the blonde Slytherin as he finally looked away.

"I wonder what that was about." Harry mused aloud, exchanging a bemused glance with his best friend.

"I don't know Harry. I just wish I knew why he was staring at you and blushing like a little girl," Ron sneered. Harry looked over at Draco again, and sure enough, the boy was blushing as he exchanged words with Pansy Parkinson.

"How very peculiar," Harry said with a frown. Something was very wrong here, and he would get to bottom of Draco Malfoy's strange behaviour, one way or another.

He finished his breakfast off quickly, knowing that during Potions, his first lesson of the day, he would have time to study Draco and decipher his intentions. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood together and walked out of the Great Hall towards the dungeons. Harry watched on with fond exasperation as Hermione lectured Ron over his refusal to finish homework on time.

Professor Snape had set them 11 inches on the properties of mugglewort and its use in the dreamless sleep potion in the previous lesson. Ron had left it until the last minute, and so his writing was large and messy, containing facts written directly from the textbook. His own essay was written only marginally better.

They waited in front of the classroom door as students began to clutter up the hallway. They still had ten minutes until Potions began but many of the students were exchanging notes on their essays, with some using the free time to finish them.

Harry watched from the corner of his eyes as Draco and Pansy reached the classroom together. Pansy had her hand on his arm as she talked to him, while Draco was scowling faintly. From all appearances, she appeared to be telling him off. Inwardly, Harry smirked at their resemblance to Hermione scolding Ron beside him. Perhaps the Slytherins were not so different to them after all.

Suddenly, Draco began walking towards him and Harry looked wildly around him for Ron and Hermione. They were gone, however, having entered the classroom while Harry had been lost in thought. He reached for the door handle and was about to turn it when a pale hand closed over his.

"Potter," a voice drawled into his ear, "allow me." Harry shivered at Draco's proximity and stood aside as he opened the door. Muttering a thankyou at the blonde Slytherin, Harry slid past him and sat down next to Ron. Draco and Pansy followed after him, taking their own usual places.

Burning red with embarrassment, Harry studied Malfoy through lidded eyes. What was he up to? First staring at him during breakfast and blushing, and now he was touching him and whispering in his ear, even opening a door for him. It was completely uncharacteristic and Harry couldn't understand his behaviour.

Professor Snape began the lesson and Harry zoned out, instead glared at the back of Draco's head, trying to figure out his behaviour. Was he planning something to humiliate Harry? Befriend him and then betray all his secrets to his Slytherin friends? Or perhaps he was being nice so that he could spy on him, passing along information to his Death Eater father? Whatever, he was up to, it was suspicious.

"Potter," Snape yelled, snapping Harry from his reverie, "Could you perhaps explain to the class exactly what I've been talking about for the last ten minutes?" Harry shrugged, looking embarrassed and chastened. "Pay attention, Potter. Twenty points from Gryffindor,' Snape proclaimed with a sneer.

"As I was saying, you will now partner up and begin brewing the Dreamless Sleep potion. The instructions are on the board," Snape continued. Harry glanced over the directions, noting that it seemed to be quite a difficult potion. He and Ron would probably have quite a bit of trouble brewing it. Turning towards his friend, his jaw dropped. Ron and Hermione were standing at a cauldron, getting all of their things ready. He and Ron had always partnered while Hermione had always worked with Neville.

Unfortunately, Neville had dropped out of Potions after receiving a T in his Potions OWL. Looking around, Harry searched for a partner. All of the Gryffindors were already paired up and so he looked over at the Slytherins, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling when he noticed that the only person left was Malfoy. It seemed that Pansy was working with Blaise Zabini, a quiet Slytherin boy. Scowling, Harry collected his books and moved over next to Malfoy.

"Potter?" Draco asked, astonished. "What are you doing? Harry rolled his eyes, looking down at his book to avoid the Slytherin's gaze.

"Everyone else has already paired up," Harry muttered angrily, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Malfoy nodded and gestured for Harry to join him. They worked together in a surprisingly comfortable silence, with Harry slicing up ingredients as instructed while Draco tended to the potion.

After an hour, Malfoy lowered the temperature of the fire, allowing the potion to simmer. Harry looked from the blackboard to the potion, pleased to see that it was the necessary pale blue described.

"Well, that's all we need to do for now," Draco said casually. "The potion needs to simmer for twenty minutes until we add the final ingredients. Harry nodded in response and wandered over to where Ron and Hermione were working. Harry smirked when he saw that his and Draco's potion was better than that of his friends.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said with a smile, patting the seat beside him. "I see you got stuck with Malfoy."

"Yeah, sorry about that mate," Ron said apologetically. "Hermione asked me yesterday if I'd be her partner today, it completely slipped my mind."

"It's alright," Harry reassured them. "Malfoy's been pretty civil so far. He's not so bad." Ron raised an eyebrow sceptically, looking over to where Draco was conversing quietly with Pansy and Blaise.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Ron responded sarcastically. Harry laughed, in total agreement with his best friend.

"Well, our twenty minutes are nearly up, sorry Harry. We need to prepare the next ingredients," Hermione said repentantly. Harry nodded and returned to his seat next to their potion and Draco returned not long after. They began to work again in silence, preparing the ingredients for the final component of the Dreamless Sleep potion.

"Thanks,' Draco muttered, as Harry passed the ingredients over to him. Looking down at the potion, he added the ingredients one by one, occasionally stirring it. Harry watched Draco's hands, mesmerised by how long his fingers were. They moved with poise, twirling the stirring rod gracefully through the thick potion. Shaking his head in confusion, Harry looked up at Draco, surprised to see the Slytherin watching him with obvious bemusement.

"Like what you see, Potter?" Draco asked teasingly, smiling when Harry blushed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy," Harry protested. Draco smirked and began to bottle up their potion in the beakers provided. He handed them to Harry, who labelled them and placed them inside a potions rack. When they finished, they carried it over to Professor Snape's desk, who studied their potion with surprise and approval.

"I must admit to being surprised, Potter. I didn't think you were capable of helping to create such a perfect example of the Dreamless Sleep potion. Five points to Gryffindor and Slytherin," Snape said quietly. Draco nodded while Harry gaped at him in shock. Had Snape just awarded him points? It seemed that this Thursday was a day for firsts!

Harry packed up his belongings and rejoined his friends, making their onwards to their next lesson; Defence against the Dark Arts. Hopefully this lesson would proceed as normal, allowing him to gain his bearings.

This year had seen the arrival of a new DADA teacher, a famous warlock called Alphonse Detirré. He was an old friend of Professor Dumbledore and had apparently helped in the defeat of Grindelwald. Harry found him quite fascinating; he was an endless fount of knowledge in regard to the Dark Arts and the best ways to counter them. Unlike many DADA professors before, except for perhaps Professor Moody, he taught them spells that would defend them against dark creatures and wizards.

This lesson saw them studying a large cage in the middle of the classroom, which was covered by a thick black blanket. All the windows of the classroom were blacked out, with the only light in the room coming from a floating chandelier.

"So, class, can anyone guess what it is that we will be studying today?" Professor Detirré asked, looking around with an amused smile. Immediately, Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger."

"Due to the lack of light, I can only assume that we are studying a creature that lives only at night, and fears sunlight. I think there's a vampire in the cage," Hermione stated loudly, glancing nervously at the cage.

"Very good, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor. You are, of course, correct. Today we will be studying vampires and how to protect against them," Professor Detirré instructed, pulling away the shroud. Harry looked in fascination at the vampire who was vastly different to the muggle portrayal.

He was not beautiful, although his skin was a translucent white that seemed to glow eerily, highlighted by his blood red lips. His eyes were bright red, glinting with malicious hatred as he surveyed the humans before him. The vampire's hair was a silky black that fell sleekly down his back, stopping at the back of his knees. He was also unnaturally thin, bordering on what muggles would call anorexic. Overall, the creature looked gaunt, menacing and really hungry.

"According to myth, vampires are the perfect predator. Their red eyes can pierce the dark that so inhibits the human race, they are immeasurably strong and fast, far outstripping our own capabilities. To make it even more difficult, they generally hunt in packs. On your own, it is very difficult to defend against a pack of malicious vampires," the professor explained, as he circled the vampire.

"Now, what do we know about vampires, absolutely?" He questioned, smiling at Hermione as again her hand shot straight up. "Very well, Miss Granger, proceed." Hermione clasped her hands before her and sat rim-rod straight in her chair. Harry mentally rolled his eyes at what he and Ron had dubbed her 'lecture mode'.

"Vampires are creatures of the night, created by injecting humans with their venom. They can be killed by direct exposure to sunlight or a wooden stake through the heart. There are rumours that they can be repelled by garlic or crosses and they are unable to enter hallowed ground but none of these are true. Vampires can only be repelled using a spell of light, such as _lumos_ or by summing fire, which will burnt their eyes," Hermione lectured, her eyes bright with satisfaction.

"Take another ten points, Miss Granger," Professor Detirré said approvingly. "As Hermione suggested, light spells are the best way to repel a vampire, and so lumos can be useful. However, there is another light spell which uses the power of the sun to destroy the vampire completely. This is what we will be practising today." The class began to mutter appreciatively, looking forward to learning a spell that would kill vampires.

"Now, the incantation for this spell is _levis candidus. _In order to use this spell, you must concentrate very strongly on sunlight, from how it looks to how its rays feel on your skin. Allow this feeling to well up inside you, and then release the power through your wand as you say the incantation. Now, pair up and you may begin," he instructed. He then shrouded the vampire's cage again and sat at his desk, observing his students and calling out encouragement,

Harry looked around, again seeing that everyone had again paired up without him, leaving him with the Slytherin Prince. He wondered if fate was out to get him. This time, it was Malfoy who stood up and joined him.

"Potter," he nodded in acknowledgement, setting his things beside the annoyed Gryffindor. "You go first; I'll watch to see if you get it right," Draco instructed him seriously. Harry nodded and closed his eyes, summoning sunlight and it's aspects to the forefront of his mind. He visualised a glowing ball of light residing inside of him, warming him and lighting up his mind. Draco looked on, astonished, as Harry started to glow with an ethereal light.

"Everyone watch Potter carefully," Professor Detirré instructed, sounding excited. The class stopped attempting the spell and turned to look at Harry, gasping as they saw the light leaking from his skin. Draco could only stare in wonder as Harry's skin became saturated with light, making him seem even more beautiful. After a short amount of time, Harry opened his glorious emerald eyes, which were emanating beams of sunlight.

"_Levis candidus_!" Harry yelled, as the light seeped from his body and exploded from his wand. The entire classroom light up light the sun, and Draco could hear the vampire whining in fear. After a few minutes, the light subsided, and Harry slumped in his seat, exhausted.

"Well done, Harry!" Professor Detirré congratulated, beaming with joy. "And on your first try as well, marvellous! Thirty points to Gryffindor! Now everyone else give it a shot," he instructed merrily. Draco shook his head in amazement and shut his eyes, determined to do as well as Harry.

Harry watched from lidded eyes as Malfoy frowned, concentrating. The spell had been quite difficult, but was made easier by his training with Professor Lupin to produce a Patronus. Except that instead of thinking of a happy thought, he just concentrated on sunlight.

Draco growled, trying to and failing to picture sunlight in his mind. All he could think of was a glowing orb in the sky that hurt to look at. He'd never paid much attention to the sun, never focussed on the warmth of it on his skin. It was a part of nature; it rose in the morning and set at night, big deal. With a frustrated sigh, Draco opened his eyes and saw Harry looking at him in amusement.

"What are you looking at, Potter?" He snarled, embarrassed that he had been unable to do the spell on his first go as his nemesis had.

"I just think it's funny that we get paired up in two classes on the same day, and you help me get a passing grade in potions, and now I have to help you in return," Harry said, shaking his head as he smiled wryly.

"Whatever, Potter. I don't need your help," Draco scowled, annoyed that he had looked stupid in front of Harry.

"No, it's a good thing. We can work together. You help me in Potions, and I'll help you in Defence against the Dark Arts. That way we both pass. What do you say?" Harry asked, holding out a hand. Draco looked down warily at Harry's hand, wondering whether or not it was a trick. He longed to take his hand and agree but he wasn't sure if it was his mind or his heart speaking.

"Very well, Potter. We'll help each other," Draco decided, taking the Gryffindor's hand. They shook on it, both giving the other a small smile. Inwardly, Draco grinned with triumph. Here, finally, was the handshake that he had wanted from Harry all those years ago. Perhaps they could now be friends at last. For now anyway.

**And there we have it, the first chapter. Please read and review to let me know what you think. Thanks to Erin for giving me inspiration for this story and helping me with ideas!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Birds of a feather... boa?**

Harry lay back in the long grass, lazily studying the brilliant white puffy clouds above him. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and he was taking advantage of the nice weather to get outside and relax for awhile.

"Potter?" Of course, nothing was ever relaxing with Malfoy around.

"What is it Malfoy?" Harry asked with a sigh, rolling onto his side to look over at the pale Slytherin. The boy was standing awkwardly with his arms folded defensively over his chest.

"What are we doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be helping me with that spell," Draco reminded him with a scowl. Harry sighed again and rolled over onto his back, pulling his arms up to rest behind his head.

"This is helping, Malfoy. Lie back and feel the sun's rays on your skin. Think about what it feels like, what it looks like. Feel its energy. Then we'll try the spell," Harry said offhandedly, shutting his eyes and basking in the warm sun. He listened with an amused smirk as Malfoy settled beside him on the grass.

"So you want me to just lay here?" Draco asked irritably, glaring over at the other boy.

"Just relax, Malfoy. Think sunny thoughts," Harry replied with a smirk. Draco frowned at the smug grin on Harry's face and leant back on his elbows, squinting up at the sky. His eyes watered as tried to look directly at the sun. Suddenly, he was surprised by Harry's hand on his chest, pushing him down into the grass.

"Don't actually look at the sun, Malfoy. It'll damage your eyes. Just feel it," Harry said, looking down at him seriously. Draco gulped at Harry's proximity and shut his eyes tightly. Harry laughed and lay back down, resuming his previous position.

"The trick is to just empty your mind, Malfoy. Focus on everything at once and then let each thing trickle from your mind until all this is left is light," Harry instructed. Draco frowned, trying to let his mind drift. He could hear students around him, talking and laughing. There were birds chirping, splashing from where some younger students were splashing in the lake. These sounds distracted him, and so he pushed them away.

He could feel the sun burning against his face, and idly he wondered whether he should have done a protection charm for his skin. His delicate body burned easily, and he knew he would probably end up with sunburn. Still, he dismissed this thought as well, determined to learn this spell. He pushed away his errant thoughts and impressions and allow himself to fall into an almost meditative state.

When his mind was empty, Draco focussed on the light against his eyes and warming his body. He felt the energy of the sun flowing through him, invigorating him. Hearing Harry gasp, he opened his eyes but found himself unable to focus on anything with the power built up inside of him.

Standing, Draco raised his wand above his head and collected the energy and light thrumming through him and directed it through his wand.

"_Levis candidus_!" He roared, and light erupted from his wand, whiting out the area around him with pure sunlight. Around him, people that had not looked away in time groaned in pain, clutching their eyes. As the light dissipated, Draco collapsed on the ground, panting in exhaustion.

He looked over at Harry, who was rubbing his eyes. Harry looked up at him and their eyes met in joint pleasure and surprise.

"Did... did I look like that?" Harry asked in awe.

"Like what?" Draco asked.

"Like an angel," Harry uttered in quiet awe. "Your blonde hair was whipping around your head and your eyes were glowing. You looked like an angel from heaven, wreathed in light. It was amazing." Draco blushed and looked down at his hands, secretly pleased at the praise.

"Yeah, you looked sort of like that as well," Draco said quietly. Harry shook his head in disbelief and fell back against the ground.

"Unbelievable," Harry muttered.

"Harry!" A voice called out, and Harry looked over to see Hermione and Ron rushing over to him. They reached him, out of breath.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked him breathlessly, her wand trained on Malfoy.

"Yeah, of course," Harry responded, his voice betraying his confusion.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt. We saw Malfoy attack you and we thought..." Hermione drifted off at the incredulous look of surprise on Harry's face.

"Malfoy wasn't attacking me. We were practising a spell," Harry stated firmly, looking between his two friends. "Is that why you rushed over here?" He questioned suspiciously.

"If you weren't fighting, then why are you out here with him?" Ron asked, with his mouth drawn and angry. Harry shrugged and looked over at Malfoy, who held his wand up defensively, looking upset.

"I told you, we were practising. Malfoy wanted me to help him with the sunlight spell for defence against the dark arts. That's all it was," Harry explained.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Hermione asked, gazing perceptively at the guilty upset look on Draco's face.

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said firmly. "That's it. We're just helping each other out."

"You and Malfoy have been hanging out a lot recently,' Ron continued in his suspicious tone, glaring at Malfoy standing by Harry. "You always pair up with him in every class now, talking to him in the halls, and now you're hanging out on the weekend. I know you're up to something, Malfoy, but you leave Harry alone!"

"Whatever, Weasley," Draco said dismissively, trying to ignore Hermione's shrewd stare.

"Well, Harry," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him away. "Everything here looks fine so we'll just leave you two alone."

"What? Hermione!" Ron spluttered as he looked over at Harry and Malfoy angrily. "Let me go!"

"No, Ron. Leave them alone. We'll hang out with Harry later," Hermione said, still pulling him towards the castle.

"I'm watching you, Malfoy!" Ron yelled. "Keep your wand to yourself!" Harry shook his head, disbelief at his friend's behaviour apparent on his face.

"Sorry about that Malfoy," Harry said, looking over at the pale Slytherin boy.

"Don't worry about it Potter. I think I can understand why your friends would be worried about me hanging out with you," Draco said quietly, avoiding Harry's gaze.

"Yeah, well, I trust you. So they'll just have to live with it," Harry said firmly, pushing his glasses against his face. Draco started, looking up at Harry in astonishment. "Anyway, do you want to practise the spell again or do something else?" Harry questioned him casually.

"Well," Draco said, "I don't think I could do it again, so I guess we'll have to work on something else. Do you need any help with our Potions essay?" Harry pouted, looking around at the gorgeous weather.

"I don't want to go inside," Harry said sulkily, dragging his feet as he followed Draco up to the castle.

"You may delay, but time will not," Draco quoted, smirking at Harry over his shoulder. "I'll meet you in the library Potter. Bring your potions book and some parchment." With that, the boy stalked off towards the dungeons. Harry watched him leave, and with a sigh, made his way up to the common room.

Thankfully, the common room was virtually empty, and Harry snuck in, grabbed the things he needed and then snuck out again, making his way to the library. He found Draco waiting impatiently for him at the entrance.

"Took you long enough, Potter," Malfoy drawled. Harry just rolled his eyes at him, and together they found a hidden table towards the back of the dank library.

"So the essay Professor Snape set us was for the next section we will be studying, Everlasting Elixirs. We have to write 10 inches on what makes them more useful than a normal potion and include and a famous example of these and," Draco explained to Harry as he flipped open to the correct page in his textbook. Harry opened to the same page and began to read the information printed there.

He looked up as Draco looked from the book to his parchment, scrawling notes in his neat handwriting. Harry began to make write as well, taking note of some important facts and quotes about everlasting elixirs. He also found a page that described some of the more famous ones;

"_The false love potion, amortentia, is one of the most famous everlasting elixirs in existence. It has a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from it in characteristic spirals. The effects of the potion on a person are described to be near instantaneous; with the person who drank the potion appearing "pale and sickly", and becoming obsessed with the object of their affections, speaking of them as though "hit by a ray of purest sunlight", and becoming excited or dangerously unstable towards others. Although the potion is reversible, when left unchecked, the potion's effects will continue indefinitely."_

Harry smirked, wondering who would be stupid enough to associate potion-induced love for the real thing. Shrugging, he began to scribble down notes on the potion, deciding to use it as his example. Surprisingly, after a little more than an hour, he had a solid plan outlined for his essay with Draco's help. He leant back in his chair, smiling in genuine happiness at his success.

Draco looked sideways at Harry furtively. He had worked well this afternoon and seemed almost surprised at how quick and easy it had been to work on his essay.

"I think that's enough for now, Potter," Draco said, stretching his arms above his head. "All you've got left is to put your notes into actual essay form and that won't take you too long."

"Thanks, Malfoy," Harry said earnestly. "Normally I would have procrastinated until the last moment and then copied from the text book." Draco rolled his eyes at this.

"Honestly, Potter. The work isn't that hard. You just have to set aside some time to do it in," Draco scolded softly. Harry laughed, shaking his head in bemusement.

"You sound just like Hermione," he said, smirking.

"Heaven forbid," Draco responded, rolling his eyes towards the roof. "I would've thought she'd be too busy making out with Weasley to nag you."

"Nah, they're not dating," Harry said with a shrug. One of Draco's pale eyebrows rose at this.

"Why not?" He asked incredulously. "It's obvious that Weasley is crazy about her. Even I can see that."

"Yeah, well," Harry said, "I think they're too different. People only see who they are on the surface, you know? Yeah, It may seem as if Ron really likes her but he has a lot of insecurities and gets jealous really easily. Hermione knows him, and she knows that they'd spend the whole time arguing about something or the other. They both need a relationship where they can be their true selves, without hiding things because they're afraid their partner would take it the wrong way." Harry mused for a moment and sighed, shaking his head in bemusement.

"I probably shouldn't have told you all that," Harry said with a wry smile.

"It's alright, Potter, I won't go blabbing about your friends' ridiculously complicated love lives," Draco replied with a smirk.

"Well, I appreciate you listening anyway, Malfoy. Anyway, I should probably go, no doubt Pansy will be waiting for you," Harry said, giving Draco a wink as he stood up. Mentally, Draco smacked him across the head.

"Actually," Draco said, standing up also, "Pansy and I have never dated. She's always been like a sister to me. However, there is someone else who's caught my eye."

"Who is it?" Harry called out as Draco walked away from him. Over his shoulder, Malfoy winked at him and smiled, laughing as he left the library. Harry shook his head in confusion and left also, deciding to head back to the Common Room before dinner. Hanging out with Malfoy was fun, but it really screwed with his head.

***

Later that night, Harry was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been a strange yet pleasant day, although Hermione wouldn't stop pestering him with questions and Ron watched him constantly with a suspicious frown.

Closing his eyes, Harry fell asleep, and he dreamed.

_He was sitting inside a bar, facing a stage with a single spotlight. Looking around, he could see that there was no one else around, with only a haunting jazz tune to break the oppressive silence. He turned his attention back to the stage._

_While he had been looking away, a figure had made his way onto the stage, although they stayed out of the circle of light. Harry squinted at them, trying to make out their features in the gloomy bar. Just as he was about to stand up and demand answers, the man stepped into the circle and looked at him with brilliant grey eyes and a seductive smile. Gulping, Harry settled back in his seat and drunk in the sight._

_Draco was dressed in tight leather pants which clung to his every muscle indecently. A fishnet shirt barely covered his upper body, giving Harry a peek at a hard, toned chest and stomach. His lips were painted black and his hair was free from its normal hair products. Instead, it fell softly around his face, framing it perfectly. The outfit was completed by an enormous green feather boa, which he held wrapped around his body._

_The music grew louder and Draco began to dance, his hips undulating to the beat. Harry's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of his enemy's sculpted ass clad in sinful black leather. Never had a sight entranced him so much._

_The beat of the music became faster, and he could see drops of sweat build up on Draco's forehead as he began to twirl and spin in time. The feather boa swept over the boy's body, with some feathers coming loose and settling in his pale blonde hair._

_Finally, Draco stopped dancing, and looking into Harry's eyes, he began to walk slowly towards him. Harry gripped the arms of his chair desperately, trying to find a way to escape. The feelings welling up inside of him were foreign, and he wanted to get away from them and Draco. However, he was stopped by a hand pushing him down into his chair._

"_Going so soon, Harry?" Dream Draco crooned, wrapping the green boa around Harry's neck. "Don't you want me?" Draco pouted, leaning in closer to study Harry._

"_N... no. I don't want you Malfoy. Stop it!" Harry said desperately. Draco tutted and stroked his cheek with a fond smile._

"_We both know that isn't true, Harry," Draco said in a low, seductive tone that Harry knew he had never heard from Malfoy's mouth before. He shut his eyes, trying to resist the Slytherin's advances. Draco laughed in that same tone, and sat down on Harry's lap, running his hands through his hair._

"_Open your eyes, Harry," he whispered. Harry could feel the other boy's breath on his face, and despite himself, opened his eyes._

Only, to find Ron shaking him.

"Open your eyes, Harry," Ron growled. Then, noticing that Harry was awake, he gave him a nasty glare and walked away.

Harry sat up, looking around blearily. He felt as if he'd barely slept a wink, and for some reason, Ron was angry with him. With a sigh he got out of bed, running through his morning routine. Brushing his teeth, he watched warily as Ron slammed around the bathroom, muttering darkly under his breath. When he was ready, he strode past Harry and down into the Common Room, refusing to meet his eyes. Shaking his head, Harry frowned and grabbed his wand, following him downstairs.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was already down stairs, sitting near the fire as she read an enormous book.

"Oh, good, Harry, you're up," she began, her voice trailing off when she looked from Ron's angry face to Harry's confused one. "Did something happen last night?" She asked warily. Harry shrugged and looked over at Ron.

"Sure, something happened," Ron growled. "Why don't you ask Harry about his lover boy, Draco?" Harry looked at him, completely confused.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Ron?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Oh Draco! No, stop it Draco. Ring a bell, Potter?" Ron asked viciously, pushing his best friend away from him. "You were moaning in your sleep about your precious _Draco!" _Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, Harry? Is this true?" Hermione asked him, her eyes shining with some unknown emotion. Harry grimaced and nodded.

"I... I didn't mean to. I don't even like blokes. It was just a stupid dream," Harry explained, his arms raised in submission. At this, Ron's visage seemed to darken even more.

"That's not what it sounded like to me," Ron growled. He then slammed out of the Common Room, leaving Harry and Hermione with the high pitched indignation of the Fat Lady.

"Well, I never!" She shrieked. "The nerve!" Harry massaged his temples, trying to rid himself of the headache he could rapidly feel approaching. He sat down on one of the couches and covered his eyes, groaning.

"What a nightmare," he moaned. Hermione sat down next to him and rubbed his arm soothingly.

"It's alright, Harry. Why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?" She said, with a small smile. Harry looked at her with a smirk.

"You love getting your way don't you?" He asked her.

"Of course. I always do. The two of you will learn that eventually," she laughed in response.

"Well, I don't really know what happened. Malfoy just started being nice to me out of the blue last Thursday, and we've just been hanging out a bit since then. He's not so bad, really," he explained, staring off into the distance. Hermione smiled covertly at the wistful expression on his face.

"Harry," she began tentatively. "Are you sure you don't have any feelings for Malfoy? Apart from Cho, you never really showed any interest in girls, it makes sense." Harry turned to look at Hermione, gobsmacked.

"What? No! Of course not!" Harry spluttered indignantly.

"Are you sure, Harry?" She asked him with a smirk. "You sure are protesting a lot for someone who doesn't feel anything. Harry shook his head stubbornly, pouting like a child.

"It's not true, that's all," he said obstinately.

"If you say so, Harry," Hermione said with a knowing smile. "Now, I have to go know. I just had a great idea for a new society! I have to get everything organised!"

Harry rolled his eyes and watched her run from the room with a determined look on her face. When Hermione got an idea, she latched on it and heaven help anyone who got in her way.

***

Draco sat in his room, a contemplative look on his face. He was sitting at his desk, with parchment and a quill lying before him. Heading the parchment was "Reasons I am, or am not gay." It was split in two by a line down the middle. Currently, one side far outweighed the other.

_Reasons for:_

_Great fashion sense. (Although, personally I think there's nothing wrong with making sure I look absolutely perfect before I leave my room.)_

_Perfect **natural **blonde hair (**NATURAL!**)_

_My subscriptions to Witch Weekly and Playwitch (That we will tell **no-one **about!)_

_My fantasies about Potter's glorious body. (I may have to burn this parchment when I'm done.)_

_I have the entire collection of The Weird Sisters music on my Wizarding Wireless. (Damn Pansy, this is all her fault!)_

_My adorable puppy calendar. (Mother bought it, not me!)_

_My extensive, ultra expensive, ultra fashionable wardrobe. (You need the best when you're a Malfoy!)_

_Reasons against:_

_Once, during my holidays a year ago, Pansy and I fell over in the snow and I accidentally groped her boob. (That counts, right?)_

So far, it was not looking good. That wasn't even the entire list, but he was too depressed to continue. Draco wondered how he had never realised his blatant homosexuality before. He must have been in some pretty serious denial for quite awhile now.

He sat back in his chair, looking at the list in front of him with a frown. Now that he had accepted that he was gay, what should he do with the information? Hanging out with Potter had been nice, but he would need to give Potter a bit more of a nudge in the right direction if they had any hopes of having a relationship.

Draco needed **'A Plan'**. He needed Pansy!

**A/N - Thankyou to everyone who has been reviewing so far. I do love waking up to an inbox full of appreciative messages! Sorry for the shorter chapter, I decided to update a bit earlier than normal to give you all your Drarry hit for the day (so much more important than caffeine!) Please read and review! Your input is appreciated muchly!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is the third wonderful installment of the denial story. Much love to all my lovely reviewers; except for my friend Caysey for her wild accusations of cliche, because I know it was her! Anyways, this chapter is quite angsty and hopefully you'll all love it! Keep reviewing! =]**

**C****hapter 3: Malfoy's Truth**

Draco sat on Pansy's bed, watching as she paced across her room, tapping her chin thoughtfully with her wand. He had brought his dilemma before and sought her advice, hoping that she would help to come up with an amazing plan to seduce Potter into his bed, if not his life.

"We need to start with little steps," Pansy mused. "Show him you're interested and then hook him in. Start with constantly being in his personal space; lean closer to him when you talk to each other, brush his hand casually, grab his arm and steer him if you're walking through a crowd. He'll notice it straight away and it should hopefully drive him crazy. He'll want to know why and then he'll come looking for answers; that's when you hook him!" Draco nodded along, thinking it over carefully.

"I can do that," he said optimistically. Perhaps this seduction thing wasn't so hard after all!

"Once you get to that stage, you should start giving him things. Pretend your Mum has sent you too many sweets or something as an excuse if you have to. If he doesn't get it, then start being a bit more blatant. Buy him something; say it made you think of him," Pansy advised sagely.

"It's so Slytherin," Draco said with a happy sigh, falling back onto Pansy's bed. "I love it." Pansy smiled sadly, inwardly laughing at the irony. She had Draco right where she had always wanted him, and yet she couldn't have him.

"That's all you'll need to do for now. You need to ease him into it or he'll run away faster than Snape can vanish one of Longbottom's potions!" Pansy said with her trademark Slytherin smirk. Draco laughed, shaking his head with a wry smile. Potter did seem like the flighty type. From what he could tell, his only relationship had been that whole disastrous affair with that Ravenclaw girl. Starting small was the perfect plan.

Later that day, Draco made his way down to dinner. On Sunday's, dinner was a very casual affair. There was no set time for students to eat and the House tables were divided into smaller seating arrangements. Normally, Draco would sit with Pansy but she had deliberately gone down earlier to scope out the tables. When she had returned, she had told him that Harry was sitting on his own, only coming down as his friends were about to leave. This was his chance.

Draco walked into the Great Hall, immediately scanning the room for Harry's raven locks. He quickly located him and strode over to the Gryffindor boy, drawing many sidelong glances from the other houses. He came to a stop, standing in front of Harry, who was staring down at his dinner morosely.

"Is anyone sitting here, Potter?" Draco asked quietly, inwardly smirking when Harry started and looked up at him in shock.

"No?" He replied, making it more of a question than a statement. Draco nodded and sat across from harry, helping himself to some of the food placed between them on the table. Harry watched him, as did everyone else in the room, completely dumfounded.

"Why are you sitting here?" Harry asked, confused.

"Why?" Draco responded, pausing in his actions. "Is there a problem with me sitting here?"

"No,' Harry said softly. "It's just that there are lots of other places where you could have sat down." Draco looked around the room and shrugged.

"I wanted to sit here," Draco shrugged, buttering a roll lazily.

"But Why?" Harry asked, frustrated now.

"Must there be a reason, Potter?" Draco asked him wearily. Harry nodded. "Perhaps I just wanted the dubious pleasure of your company," he said with another shrug. With that, he began eating his roll with obvious relish. Harry shook his head in disbelief and returned to staring at the food on his plate. He had been completely correct yesterday; nothing was _ever_ relaxing around Malfoy.

The two boys sat in uncomfortable silence, slowly eating their meals. Harry was conscious of the stares and whispers around him, and shrunk in his chair in response. Draco noticed this and looked around the room with a vicious, cutting glance, and suddenly everyone found something far more important to do. Satisfied, Draco returned to eating and studying Harry through lowered lashes.

Harry seemed to be very quiet tonight. However, Draco put that down to the unrelenting stares of their foolish peers. However, it was not difficult to see that Harry was upset about something, and also feeling uncomfortable around him. With a sigh, Draco put down his fork and in a rare display of bad manners, leaned his elbows on the table, his chin resting against his hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked quietly, his silver eyes staring into Harry's unwaveringly. Harry shrugged and looked away.

"It's nothing," he muttered. Draco smirked.

"It doesn't look like nothing. Tell the truth, Harry. I despise liars," Draco commanded him, his forehead creased into a frown. Harry looked at him warily, blinking in shock and confusion.

"I just had a fight with Ron this morning, that's all," Harry said. Draco watched as Harry's eyes darkened with sadness and also anger. Whatever had happened must have been pretty bad for Harry to look so upset about it. Draco wondered what he should say. Not that long ago he would have used this to his own advantage, trying to further split the Gryffindor friends apart. Now, he merely reached across the table, laying a hand on Harry's arm reassuringly.

"Whatever it is, Potter, he'll come around. He might be a complete and utter idiot, but he's your friend. In time, Weasley will remember that," Draco said with a squeeze for emphasis. He tried not to let himself become lost in the feeling of Harry's muscled forearm tensing under his grip.

"Thanks Malfoy," Harry said, a genuine smile lighting his features. Draco shrugged, pulling his hand back and resuming his dinner.

"Don't mention it, Potter, really. I have a reputation after all," he responded, pretending to ignore Harry when he snorted. They ate, sitting in comfortable silence and Draco found himself relaxing in the presence of the Gryffindor boy. If only Harry had taken his hand that day, perhaps they would have had moments like this, moments of pure peace and happiness, happen more often. It may have taken them six years, but Draco thought that he might finally be close to calling Harry Potter his friend.

***

Harry walked down the stairs into the Entrance Hall, looking around for that flash of platinum blonde hair. He couldn't see him anywhere, and so he decided to go and look in the Great hall. Sure enough, there was Draco Malfoy, sitting calmly at a vacant table as he sipped a cup of coffee, the Dailey Prophet spread out in front of him. With a sigh, Harry strode over to him and sat across from him.

"I thought we were meeting up now to go to Hogsmeade," Harry said quietly, conscious of the stares around him. Draco looked up from the newspaper and smirked.

"We are, unfortunately for you, I do not function without coffee," Draco responded. "Just have some breakfast, Potter. We'll leave after that." Harry nodded, placing some bacon and eggs on his plate and pouring himself some coffee. Draco watched him drink the coffee with a glare.

"Did you really just drink coffee from my jug?" Draco asked in a dangerous tone. Harry faltered as he looked from the murderous look on Malfoy's face to the empty jug of coffee sitting before him.

"Um... yes?" Harry said, looking nervous. "I just thought you already had a cup, so..." He drifted off as a vein began to twitch in Malfoy's forehead. He never realised that Draco was so obsessive about coffee, and noted this in his mind in order to avoid future blood being spilt.

"Here," Harry said, offering the cup of coffee to Draco. He took it and immediately began drinking it, humming with pleasure. Harry sighed, watching how quickly the blonde downed his coffee. Grumbling, he poured himself a glass of orange juice instead.

After they had finished eating, they made their way out of the castle, walking towards Hogsmeade silently. Harry stared off into the distance, his mind a million miles away. Surreptitiously, Draco watched him, surprised at the dreamy look on Harry's face. He took the time to study his new Gryffindor friend, noting the pale skin and black, sunken eyes with a frown.

Turning away, he glared down angrily at the ground. Weasley was still ignoring Harry, refusing to even sit near him in classes or at dinner. It was wearing on Harry, and he was wasting away, feeling miserable from all the hurt and rejection he was feeling. Draco wondered what they had fought about that had kept the best friends apart for nearly an entire week.

"Harry?" Draco said quietly, disturbing the Gryffindor from his reverie. Harry looked over at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "What did you and Weasley fight about?" Harry flinched and Draco felt immediately guilty. He reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Harry said, staring morosely at his sneakers. Draco frowned, wondering whether or not he should press the issue. He decided to stay silent, seeing what Harry would do. The raven-haired boy looked up at him, his cheeks burning with shame. Draco looked at him, surprised. Was Harry... blushing?

"It's something to do with me, isn't it?" He questioned, pulling away from Harry with a sigh. Harry nodded and Draco chewed the inside of his lip, fretting. Somehow, this fight between Harry and Weasley had something to do with them being friends, and that made him angry. Weasley was being completely unreasonable. Perhaps Draco would need to sort him out.

"Well Potter, whatever it is, Weasley is an idiot," Draco said cheerfully. "You can just hang out with me instead." Harry smiled at him, and Draco's heart leapt in his chest. Merlin, he would kill for Harry's smiles. They made him feel weak at the knees.

The two boys had entered Hogsmeade now, and Draco lead him towards the Apothecary, pushing the door open. It took a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the small, dingy room. Harry stood by the door as Draco walked down one of the aisles, searching for a few ingredients.

Harry looked around curiously. He had never actually entered this store before. If he'd ever needed to buy something for Potions, he had simply owled off for it. Potions had never really been something that had interested him before. But Draco's fascination for the subject had made him warm up to it a little. The fact that he was actually passing may also have had something to do with it. Snape didn't dare fail Harry while Draco was his partner. He had to give them both the same score, much to his eternal disgust.

Harry and Draco were currently working together on a Potions assignment to make an Everlasting Elixir. They had to take a common potion and try and find a way to alter it until it was everlasting in some way. They had decided to do a rather sneaky version of Veritaserum, which would make the drinker tell the truth indefinitely if a counter-potion wasn't used. Draco had thought it was a stroke of genius, and the two boys schemed on who they could prank using the potion.

However, before that could happen, they needed to purchase the ingredients for the potion. Draco gathered the ingredients for Veritaserum and then also grabbed a few other things that he thought would help make it everlasting. They had researched a few everlasting elixirs and found a few common ingredients. By experimenting, they should be able to create the right effect.

Draco took the ingredients to the counter, watching as the small man behind it began to ring up the correct amount on the till. He then packaged the ingredients and stored them away safely inside a brown paper bag. With a loud thankyou and a wave, the two boys left the store.

Looking up and down the busy main street of Hogsmeade, Draco wondered how he could make this drag out longer. He wanted to keep Harry with him for as long as possible. Luckily, Harry saved him.

"Do you want to go have a Butter Beer or something?" Harry asked Draco, looking at him hesitantly. Draco smiled and nodded, following the raven-haired boy to the Three Broomsticks. They ordered their drinks and sat in a secluded table.

Harry froze as he saw Ron and Hermione sitting nearby them. Ron went bright red, glaring at the two of them, while Hermione sent him an apologetic shrug. Draco looked over at Weasley and only barely resisted the urge to rush over and strangle him for making Harry so unhappy.

Instead, he buried the feeling down inside of him for another day. He turned his attention instead towards cheering Harry up. They began to talk of inconsequential things; teachers, classes, Quidditch. Draco was so absorbed in what Harry was saying that he didn't notice Weasley standing over their table until it was too late.

"So, Malfoy," Weasley said in a nasty voice. "I see you've gotten what you've always wanted." Draco frowned and turned to look at the furious Gryffindor.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Weasley," he said dismissively. Ron laughed; a loud, angry sound.

"Don't pretend that you aren't enjoying having Harry panting after you like a little bitch," Ron growled. One pale eyebrow rose in astonishment.

"And don't you, Weasley, pretend to assume you know anything about me. Take your vulgarity elsewhere," Draco instructed, his voice turning glacial. With that said he turned his back to Weasley and looked, worried, at the look of shame and anger and embarrassment on Harry's face.

"Nothing to say, Harry? Too busy hanging out with your lover to pay attention to your friends anymore?" Ron asked his former best friend waspishly. Harry turned beet red, sinking lower in his chair as everyone around them fell quiet, listening rapturously.

"I think, Weasley," a cold voice said from beside him, "that you should leave." They all turned in surprise to see Pansy Parkinson standing there, glaring at the redhead. Ron laughed derisively.

"Oh, this is just rich," he said, looking from the Slytherin to Harry angrily. "Why don't you just move into Slytherin if you're all best buddies now?" With that, he stormed off, Hermione trailing after him, looking angry and upset. Pansy slid into the seat next to Draco, looking between the two of them warily.

"Thanks, Pansy," Draco said to her warmly. She nodded, and an awkward silence fell over their table. Draco studied his beverage, frowning angrily. So, now he made a much better idea of what Weasley and Harry had fought about the week before. Weasley was jealous of them spending time together, but one of his remarks made Draco wonder what was really going on.

"_Don't pretend that you aren't enjoying having Harry panting after you like a little bitch." "Too busy hanging out with your lover..."_

Weasley had been insinuating that Harry was only being his friend because he wanted him. Not that that would worry Draco even if it were true; Harry had shown no indication to the Slytherin boy that he wanted him as anything other than a friend, and even that was a tenuous relationship at the best of times. So what had given the Weasel the idea that he and Harry were having sex?

He looked up at Harry, who was staring out the window, looking after his best friends sadly. Draco frowned, feeling more and more pissed off as the seconds ticked by in silence. He looked over to Pansy and she slipped away with a knowing smile, her eyes telling him that they would be having a quiet little chat very soon. When she was gone, Draco stood, startling Harry, who turned to look up at him with wide eyes.

"Let's go," Draco suggested, throwing a handful of money onto the table for their drinks. Wordlessly, Harry stood and followed him out the door. The two boys walked together, Draco leading them down towards the Shrieking Shack. They stood, side by side, looking out at the condemned building, silent.

"Why does he hate me?" harry said quietly, breaking the silence. His words hung in the air, his defeated, hurt voice echoing in Draco's mind.

"He's jealous, Harry. He doesn't hate you. The opposite, if anything else," Draco said, realising as he said it out loud how true it really was.

"W... What?" Harry stuttered, looking at Draco incredulously.

"Weasley thinks we have a sexual relationship, Potter," Draco informed him, his silver eyes boring into Harry's shocked emerald orbs. "So, he's jealous. He wants you. It's obvious every time he looks at you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Harry spluttered. "He likes Hermione, girls!" Draco laughed.

"Weren't you just telling me last week that it wasn't like that between them? You're grasping at straws Harry," he said with a shrug. Harry shook his head, determined.

"You're lying," he said firmly, refusing to believe Draco. It was completely absurd. There was no way that Ron wanted him.

"I never lie," Draco said, feeling mildly insulted. He may be a Malfoy, but even he had standards. At this, Harry laughed.

"What about that time in third year, when Buckbeak attacked you. You milked that for months!" Harry told him, smirking at the Slytherin triumphantly. Draco smirked, looking off into the distance as he remembered what a little prat he had been.

"Well," he amended, "I don't lie anymore. I've spent all my life being lied to and I decided that it was enough. I'll never lie to you, Harry, not even to protect you." Draco looked over at him with a sad smile. Harry looked back at him, seeming to reassess his views on his once enemy.

"Thanks, Malfoy," he said quietly. "You know," he began hesitantly. "It's weird now, looking back. I wonder what would have happened if I had shaken your hand that day." Draco frowned, wondering why Harry had brought this up now.

"Yes," he said. "Things would have been completely different," he mused. "It caused our enmity, you know. I was so insulted."

"Well, you were a bit of a prat," Harry said with a laugh. Draco frowned, seeing that Harry didn't understand.

"Do you know how powerful my family is, Potter?" He asked the Gryffindor, seemingly out of the blue. Harry looked surprised and then shrugged.

"I know you're really rich, but so am I. I never thought you were better than me just because you have money," Harry said thoughtfully, scratching the side of his head. At this, Draco burst out laughing.

"You really have no idea, do you?" He asked him incredulously. Harry frowned, looking at him questioningly. "You have no idea what you're up against, it's unbelievable." Draco shook his head in disbelief.

"What do you mean? What am I up against?" Harry looked confused.

"My father, and through him, Voldemort, are both very powerful men within Britain," Draco began, his eyes distant as he explained everything to Harry. "They're infiltrated the Ministry, obviously, but they almost don't need to. The Malfoy family is the most powerful, most rich family in Europe." Harry looked at him incredulously, completely shocked.

"We own controlling stocks in more than half of the Wizarding business in Europe. My Father is kept very busy keeping them all running at an obscene profit. Overall, I'd say that the pureblood families own about 75% of Britain's finances, and most of them support Voldemort. The Malfoy Holdings are probably worth about 62% altogether. That makes my Father a very, very powerful man," Draco said with a frown. By this point, Harry's eyes had nearly bugged out of his face.

"I never realised you owned that much money, Malfoy," Harry said, wondering whether to be impressed or scared.

"Well, it's mostly tied up in businesses and real estate, but yes, we are quite rich. If we were to liquidate all our assets and move to another country, the British economy would collapse. No one dares say no to a Malfoy, and that, Potter, is why we became such vicious enemies. To turn aside my offer of friendship was a grievous insult, although you probably didn't realise it at the time," Draco finished, looking over at Harry, keeping his face deliberately blank. Harry gulped, feeling incredibly nervous.

"I'm sorry Malfoy, I had no idea," Harry whispered, looking ashamed.

"It's behind us now," Draco said decisively. Then he stepped forwards and held out his hand resolutely, almost daring Harry to make the same mistake again. Harry swallowed thickly, knowing now what Draco's friendship truly meant. He looked up into Draco's blank silver eyes, wondering if he really wanted the Slytherin's friendship.

A bed of sweat trickled down the back of Draco's neck as he watched Harry make up his mind. He was obviously taking in what Draco had said, finally making an informed decision. It seemed an age had passed before the Gryffindor stepped forward, shaking his hand firmly. Draco smiled; a true, genuine smile and Harry returned it eagerly.

***

Harry stepped through the Fat Lady's portrait warily, hoping that there wouldn't be a repeat of Ron's previous vindictiveness. Thankfully, the redhead was nowhere in sight, however, he could see Hermione bustling around the Common Room, handing out pamphlets to their fellow Gryffindor's. Before she noticed him, he picked up one of the already discarded pamphlets, reading the title in horror.

_**F.A.G.S**_

_**Foundation for the Appreciation of Gay Society**_

It was too much, first Ron was accusing him of being gay and hooking up with Malfoy, and now this; Hermione's idea of being supportive. He stalked up to her, his green eyes flashing angrily.

"What the hell," he ground out angrily, "Is this?" He shoved the pamphlet into her hands. A hush descended and Harry glared at the shocked Gryffindor's around him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the Common Room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He bellowed at her, turning as red as Ron in his anger and humiliation.

"I don't know why you're so angry, Harry," Hermione said crossly. "I'm just showing my support."

"When will you and Ron get it through your thick heads? I am **NOT GAY!**" Harry yelled, his fists clenched together in frustration.

"Don't be ridiculous Harry," Hermione said in fond exasperation, trying to soothe Harry. "You've been dating Malfoy for a few weeks now; you were out with him in the Three Broomsticks today. I saw how you looked at each other." Harry growled angrily, his magic swelled and things nearby began to blow up.

"Malfoy and I are only, and only ever will be, friends. You're out of your mind if you think anything else is going on," he managed to say through clenched teeth. Behind him, a suit of armour collapsed to the ground, its metal twisting out of shape with a bone-rending shriek. Hermione shuddered, looking afraid as Harry began to shake with the conscious effort of keeping his magic inside him.

"Stay away from me Hermione; I obviously can't control my anger around your ridiculous ideas." Hermione gasped, looking hurt and angry. He turned around, his eyes flashing, the air around him crackling with magic and tension. He needed to get out, get away from people. He needed to release the anger inside of him where it couldn't hurt anyone.

He began to run, desperate to get outside before his anger and frustration released, before he lost control of his magic. He ran straight past a startled Draco, who has standing in the Entrance Hall, talking with Pansy. He ran and ran until he stood on the outskirts of the forest where finally, he could let it out.

Harry seemed to explode with light, screaming in anger and pain as his magic burst from him in erratic waves. Draco, standing about twenty metres away, watched in concern and awe as the magic began to pour out of Harry, sizzling in the air. When it was all gone, Harry dropped to his knees, his head supported in his hands as he sobbed tears of anger and frustration and hurt.

Draco ran forwards, wrapping his arms around the sobbing Gryffindor, pulling him into his chest. Harry grabbed onto his shirt, soaking it with his tears as he cried it all out. He cried out his hurt for the loss of his friends, he cried for all the anger and hurt that had developed in his heart over the years of his life, he released it all and Draco held him together. Draco held him and stopped him from falling apart completely.

When Harry's loud sobbing ceased into quiet sniffles, Draco released him, casting a few quick spells on himself and Harry, cleaning them both up. He stood, reaching out a hand to the weary Gryffindor.

"Come on, Harry," he said, helping him stand up.

"Where are we going?" Harry said hoarsely.

"I don't know about you, Potter, but I desperately need to fly," Draco responded, raising his wand to summon his broom. Harry, smiling, did the same.

"Let's steal a Snitch and have a bit of one-on-one for awhile, it'll take your mind off things," Draco suggested when their brooms came into sight. Harry nodded and they made their way over to the Quidditch pitch, flying lazily.

After a few hours of strenuous exercise, they flew into one of the stands and lay down on the long wooden seats. Draco looked up into the now starry sky and sighed happily. Harry turned to study him, watching how the pale Slytherin's hair shone brightly in the moonlight, looking more silver then the usual blonde. He sighed also, content.

"Thanks Malfoy," he said quietly. Draco turned to look at him, looking serious now.

"My friends call me Draco," he reprimanded with a smile. Harry returned the smile.

"Draco, then. Thank you, for everything," Harry amended. Draco nodded, looking away.

"Anytime, Harry. I'll be there for you for as long as I can," Draco said, looking at his hands with an unhappy grimace. Harry rolled onto his side, looking concerned.

"What the hell does that mean?" Harry asked, sounding defensive. He watched as the Slytherin squirmed, avoiding his eyes.

"I never had a choice, Harry," he whispered, looking agonized. "It was made for me, years ago. He'll kill my family, Harry. He'll kill them right in front of me, and then he'll kill me." Draco swallowed, feeling angry and upset at the lot he had been given in life. He had never wanted to be a Death Eater, never wanted to follow his father's Dark Path. He just wanted to be himself, wanted to make his own decisions with his own free will.

"No, Draco... you can't!" Harry whispered back, feeling his heart begin to ache in his chest. He had finally made friends with the blonde and already their friendship was being stolen away. "Look at me, Draco! We'll find a way, any way for you to be safe! I'll be your Secret Keeper if I have to!" Draco shook his head stubbornly as tears began to leak from his anguished silver eyes.

"Harry, I can't. I want to, so much. But I love my parents and I won't run and hide and let them be killed. They're my family, it would be wrong to abandon them," Draco said, openly crying as he finally acknowledged the anguish he felt at having to choose between doing the right thing and keeping his family safe. Harry nodded slowly. He was upset but he knew that Draco was stuck.

"I'll still be your friend, Draco," he said, resolutely. "I don't agree with your choice but I understand it. Do what you have to do and no more and I'll kill him. I'll set you free." Harry said, slamming his hand down into his fist. He wouldn't allow Voldemort to enslave his friend, wouldn't allow him to make Draco do horrible things that he would regret for the rest of his life.

"As soon as possible, I'll watch him die at my hand! I'll stop him from hurting the ones I love!" Harry vowed with his emerald eyes lit with fire and passion. Draco watched him, understanding finally why he was hailed as the Chosen One. Harry stood proudly, his green eyes flashing, his wand held tightly in his hand; he had never looked more heroic to the Slytherin Prince. Draco smiled wistfully, imagining what it would be like when he was free.

Everything would be alright in the end. He might have to hurt people, torture or kill innocents but in the end Harry would make everything ok. He was the saviour of the Wizarding world, and he would save Draco from the darkness. After the war, he would finally be free; Harry would make sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Everlasting Elixirs**

Draco sat nervously in the Great Hall, pushing his food around his plate. It was Wednesday, the day that his father never failed to send him a letter. The students around him were all talking loudly, ignoring his own bleak mood. Normally, his father's letters held familiar instructions and questions. You'd better not be slipping in your grades. Have you beaten Potter in Quidditch yet? Is Professor Snape keeping an eye on you? However, this had all changed after the previous holidays. Now, his father urged him to embrace the Death Eater lifestyle and tried to set him tasks to prove his worth.

Somehow Draco knew that it was leading up to something big. As the Owl Post began to arrive Draco hunched over and closed his eyes. He waited until he heard the unmistakeable rustle of wings settling before him on the table. Warily he opened his eyes at his father's eagle which stood before him with a package.

There was the usual care package from his mother, which held sweets and money, as well as her long letter filled with gossip and eager questions. He glanced through her letter, trying to put off reading his father's letter as long as possible.

Finally he could stall no longer and he opened the letter, his eyes flicking through its contents. The more he read, the paler he got and his hands began to shake.

How could his father possibly think that he was capable of _that?_ Draco stood up abruptly, the letter grasped in his hand. The other items of his package were vanished into his room with a lazy flick of his wand. He then strode out of the room, his silver eyes flashing with anger and fear.

Quickly, he made his way up to the Owlery, puffing his way up the stairs. _Why did the bloody Owlery have to be at the top of the ruddy castle anyway? It should be outside or something, _Draco thought to himself uncharitably. When he finally reached the tower he leant against the door, trying to catch his breath. Although he was quite fit from Quidditch, seven flights of stairs was still a very long way to go.

Draco grabbed a piece of parchment from his bag and scrawled on it in his archaic script;

_Father,_

_Are you completely and utterly __**out of your mind?**__ How could I possibly hope to complete that mission? It's impossible! You'll have to find someone else; because there is no way that I would be able kill him. He's one of the most powerful wizards of our time, after all. If Grindelwald couldn't kill him, what hope could I possibly have? Please reconsider._

_Your son,_

_Draco._

With the final flourish of his name, Draco finished the letter and then rolled it up. He tied it to the leg of one of the large school owls and sent it on its way to Malfoy Manor. Hopefully his letter would make his father see reason.

As the owl disappeared out of sight, Draco hurried down the stairs, cursing as he realised how late he was for Potions. Snape would be furious with him, there was no doubt. He finally stumbled through the door of the Potions classroom twenty minutes after the class had begun, completely out of breath.

"Draco, how nice of you to join us," Professor Snape said coldly, his black eyes narrowing in anger.

"I'm sorry Professor," Draco said after he finally caught his breath.

"Ten points from Slytherin for your tardiness," Snape said dismissively. Draco nodded and slunk over to his seat, pulling out his book and quill from his bag.

"As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted," Snape drawled. "You will all be brewing your final attempt at your everlasting elixir. At the end of this lesson all partners will hand up their completed potion, essay and notes on their potion. You may begin." The class bustled into action and Draco sat miserably in his chair as Harry walked over and sat beside him. He was too miserable to even take solace in the Gryffindor's presence.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Harry asked quietly, nudging Draco from his misery. He was worried by how drawn and pale his Slytherin friend was looking. Draco nodded slightly, averting his gaze from Harry's. He had known that he would be told to do things he didn't want to do in this war, but this was far beyond his expectations, not to mention his abilities. But if he failed... It was too harrowing to think about.

"Let's just start," Draco said, looking bored. Harry frowned as Draco's typical Slytherin mask slipped into place. He reached over and touched the other boys arms, drawing his startled gaze to Harry's determined green eyes.

"You'll tell me later," Harry said, his unnerving green eyes never wavering. Draco swallowed and nodded, looking nervous.

"Good," Harry said, looking satisfied that he would eventually gain some answers for the Slytherin's strange behaviour. The two boys then began their potion, with Harry organising the ingredients as Draco brewed.

Their trial and error over the past few Potion lessons had left them feeling confident that their current potion would be a complete success. Harry watched Draco with a smile as he bent of his cauldron, muttering to himself. He grabbed ingredients from Harry without even looking, adding them swiftly as he stirred the potion.

The smoke of the potion ruffled his pale, blonde locks and Harry smirked, wondering how horrified Draco would be when he finally noticed. Harry started when Draco whipped around to stare at him, his grey eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" He scowled. "You're breaking my concentration." Harry tried to look innocent.

"Nothing, I'm just making sure you get the potion right that's all," he said casually. Draco merely raised a single eyebrow at him, causing Harry to blush.

"Sure you were, Harry," Draco smirked. "It's obvious that you're completely in love with me," he teased. Harry blanched. First Ron and Hermione, and now him too?

"I am not," Harry protested crossly, crossing his arms. Draco rolled his eyes and turned back to the potion.

"You just keep telling yourself that Harry. Denial really becomes you," Draco laughed. Harry glared at him and turned back to cutting up ingredients.

They finished the rest of the potion in silence, both looking pleased at their final result. The potion was clear like normal Veritaserum, as well as being odourless. Draco filled six vials with the potion, choosing one to carry over to Professor Snape while Harry brought over the booklet containing their essays and notes.

While Snape was flicking through it and examining their potions, the two boys slipped the remaining vials into their pockets. They had grand plans for their potion. By the end of the day, quite a few people would find themselves spouting the truth, and the only way for them to stop was for Professor Snape to brew an antidote to their potion.

Sniggering, Harry and Draco left their class and made their way to the kitchens. They slipped inside to find the House Elves bustling around preparing lunch. Harry cleared his throat.

"Harry Potter, sir," Dobby squeaked, rushing forward as he noticed the Gryffindor boy. Harry waved hello and the house elf turned to Draco, his eyes narrowing as he glared at him.

"It's alright Dobby, Draco is my friend," Harry reassured the elf. Dobby shook his head, looking at the Slytherin angrily.

"No, Harry Potter. Master Draco is a bad wizard. A bad wizard!' Dobby cried out. Draco looked down at the house elf warily, looking surprised to find Dobby in the Hogwarts kitchens.

"Dobby?" He said slowly. "What on Earth are you doing here?" He looked from the house elf to Harry in confusion. "And how do you know Harry?"

"Harry saved Dobby from the bad wizards," he said proudly. "He is forcing Master to present Dobby with clothes, setting Dobby free!" Draco raised an eyebrow, looking over at Harry, bemused.

"Is this true, Harry?" He asked him. Harry looked guilty and avoided his gaze. Finally, he nodded and his cheeks turned red with shame. Draco laughed.

"I would pay good money to have seen the look on my Father's face when you did that," Draco laughed.

"It was pretty funny," Harry relented, a smile adorning his face. Dobby looked up confused as Harry smiled at the laughing Slytherin. Perhaps there was hope for Master Draco after all if he could laugh like this with the great Harry Potter.

"Dobby," Harry said gently. "I wonder if you could do as a favour."

"Anything for you, Harry Potter," Dobby said adoringly.

"We need to test out our potion at lunch. Could you slip it into some goblets for us?" Harry asked him, holding out a vial of potion. Dobby looked at the potion suspiciously.

"It won't hurt anyone," Harry said reassuringly. "It makes people tell the truth all the time." Dobby smiled, looking awed.

"That is a good potion indeed, Harry Potter. Telling the truth is a good thing," Dobby said, looking happy.

"Exactly, I couldn't agree more," Harry said with a laugh. "All you need to do is put three drops of the potion in the goblets of all the sixth years except for me and Draco and then they will all start telling each other the truth." Dobby nodded, taking the vial from Harry reverently.

"It will be as you say, Harry Potter," Dobby bowed.

"Thanks Dobby," Harry replied. With a bemused glance over at the smirking Draco, the two boys left the kitchens and hurried on to Defence against the Dark Arts. They rushed into the classroom just as the last students were sitting down. Breathless, they collapsed into their chairs and pulled out their books.

"Ok, settle down class," Professor Detirré instructed. "Now today we are moving on from vampires. All of you have managed to master the sunlight spell quite well. The next section of the course will be a sort of continuation using the same principles as the sunlight spell but against other dark creatures you may face."

"The first of these is the Patronus, which we use to fend off Dementors and then after that we will study Inferi, which are repelled by fire. The three spells all have the same basis; you visualise something such as light or a happy memory, use the energy from your summoning of that feeling to power your spell and then say the incantation to do the spell itself," Professor Detirré explained.

"Now, I have heard from Dumbledore that some of you can already summon a corporeal Patronus, is this correct?" He asked, looking over at Harry.

"Yes sir," Harry nodded. "Hermione, Ron and I can all summon a corporeal Patronus."

"Good, good, could you three please demonstrate at the front of the class here, please?" He instructed. Harry walked to the front, followed by Ron and Hermione. Harry ignored them completely and shut his eyes, summoning a happy memory. He thought of lying in the grass outside, watching Draco shine with light as he mastered the sunlight spell. This image boosted him and he waved his wand, calling out "Expecto Patronum!"

A stag erupted from his wand and cantered around the room, stopping in front of Harry when it perceived no immediate threat. At the same time an otter appeared in front of Hermione, while Ron's Patronus was a small dog. The class looked awed at the three creatures in awe as they radiated strong white light. Professor Detirré clapped in excitement.

"Bravo, children," he smiled. "An wonderful job. How did you three learn to do this?"

"I was taught by Professor Lupin in my third year, and then I taught Ron and Hermione as well as a few others last year," Harry explained, looking awkward.

"You could produce a corporeal Patronus at thirteen?" Professor Detirré asked him, astonished. Harry nodded, turning red with embarrassment.

"Well, that is excellent," he beamed. Harry returned to his seat quickly, sitting low in his chair. Draco smirked at him and Harry scowled.

"Shut up," he muttered. Draco laughed at Harry's embarrassed visage.

"Oh Harry, the Chosen One. Pretty please will you lend me your wisdom and teach me how to summon a Patronus," Draco wheedled, smirking at his once nemesis. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I will as long as you never talk to me in that voice again. It's nauseating," Harry said with a small smile. Draco chuckled and raised his wand.

"Come on then, how do you do it?" Draco asked, becoming serious.

"Alright," Harry said. "It's quite similar to the sunlight spell, except you need to think of a truly happy memory, the strongest one you have. Then you let it fill you up with happiness and joy and use the energy to power the spell." Draco nodded, tapping his chin with his wand as he considered this.

"A truly happy memory," he mused, thinking hard. Very few memories of his family were untainted by the worry he felt now that their lives were in danger. He had several happy memories spent with Pansy but nothing that really stuck out in his mind. His mind finally settled on a memory and he shut his eyes, remembering how he had felt at the time.

He smiled, allowing the feelings of happiness, relief and acceptance well up inside of him. It was Harry he thought of now, shaking his hand and vowing to be his friend. It had made him incredibly happy to finally have the Gryffindor boy's hand in friendship. He opened his eyes, looking at Harry confidently as he smiled.

Raising his wand, he flicked it lazily and drawled out the incantation. White light exploded from the wand a large shape flew up into the room. Draco looked up and smirked, looking pleased with himself.

"A dragon?" Harry spluttered incredulously. "Your Patronus is a sodding Dragon?"

"You're just jealous because it's cooler than yours,' Draco said, pretending to yawn with boredom. Harry looked up at the dragon which was flying around the room, swooping down on unsuspecting Gryffindor's.

"Typical Slytherin," Harry muttered, watching with bemusement as Hermione shrieked and brandished her wand at the dragon menacingly. Draco sat up, looking annoyed as she banished it.

"Watch it, Granger," he snarled, glaring at her. She merely sniffed and looked away from him. "Silly bint," he said quietly to Harry, who chuckled. They spent the rest of the lesson sparring against each other with their Patronuses. Draco found it very amusing when his dragon swooped down and swallowed the stag. Unfortunately, the stag merely shrugged this off and leaped out of its side. Harry rolled on the ground, howling with laughter at the confused look on the dragon's face.

When the class finally ended they exchanged a smirk, making their way down to lunch. They stood at the door, surveying the room.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep a straight face, Draco," Harry whispered, already feeling an enormous grin growing on his face.

"Maybe I should cast a Serious Charms on you," Draco suggested. Harry looked confused.

"Is that like the opposite of the Cheering Charm?" He questioned the blonde. Draco shrugged.

"I guess so, it'll stop you from laughing anyway," Draco said.

"Alright, do it," Harry said, watching as Draco raised his wand to him.

"Gravis," he pronounced as he flourished his wand at the Gryffindor. Harry felt the need to grin abide and suddenly felt himself frown.

"Looks like it worked,' Draco said some satisfaction. "See you later, Potter." He stalked off towards the Slytherin table and Harry turned towards his own table. He sat down, placing food on his plate. A goblet of pumpkin juice appeared towards him and Harry sipped it cautiously. When nothing happened, he set it down beside him with a smile.

Looking around him, he noticed people drinking their pumpkin juice with gusto.

"It has a really sweet taste today," Neville said, looking pleased beside him. "Must have been a really good batch of pumpkins." Harry nodded solemnly, very glad now for Draco's spell. Otherwise he would have already cracked up laughing. He looked over to the Slytherin table to where Draco was sitting, miraculously keeping a straight face. He caught Draco's eye and the blonde smirked, although no one would find that unusual. Harry turned back to his breakfast, listening quietly to the strange conversations around him.

"Did you know," Neville said dreamily to an incredulous Ginny Weasley, "That you have the most radiant hair. It's like fire, so beautiful." He sighed, reaching forward to capture a red curl in his hand. Ginny slapped his hand away and pulled out her wand, brandishing it towards the oblivious boy. Harry then looked over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting. Ron was pleading with a furious Hermione and Lavender, who sat on either side of him.

"You don't really like that tramp, do you Ron?" Hermione spat, causing Lavender to gasp.

"Don't speak about me like that, you bitch," she shrieked, leaning across Ron to pull at her hair. Hermione slapped her hands away, turning red with anger.

"Hermione, Lavender," he pleaded. "Stop fighting please. I don't like either of you like that." They both stopped to look at him, astonished.

"Neither of us," Lavender said in a small voice, looking shell-shocked.

"Then who do you like?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Harry Potter," Ron blurted out and then slapped his hands over his mouth in horror. Harry's head whipped over to look at Draco, who was very obviously fighting the impulse to burst into laughter.

"I told you so," he mouthed, giving him a superior look. Harry scowled and deliberately looked away from both the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. He noticed Luna stand up and walk over to the Slytherin table and watched in horror as she launched herself at Blaise Zabini.

"Oh Blaise," she purred. "I adore you." He blinked at her, looking surprised.

"Uh... you do?" He asked, grimacing.

"Oh yes," she gushed. "You're so handsome." He looked over at Draco helplessly, who shrugged and smirked. Blaise looked down at the petite blonde and frowned.

"Alright," he shrugged.

"Alright?" She sat back, looking at him in confusion. He nodded, and then leaning forwards, pressed his lips to hers gently. Harry's jaw dropped as the Slytherin boy and the Ravenclaw girl began to make out in the Great Hall.

"Mr Zabini, Miss Lovegood," Professor Snape barked out, striding towards them angrily. "I demand you stop this display of affection at once. It is unseemly." They pulled apart and looked up at the Potions Professor.

"Sorry Professor," Blaise smirked. Snape whirled around and walked away, not noticing as Blaise pulled Luna in for another kiss.

"I'll see you later," he whispered into her ear as she giggled. Luna got up and skipped over to the Ravenclaw table, glowing with happiness. Draco exchanged an incredulous look with Harry and then turned to look at Blaise.

"What the hell was that?" he asked Blaise, looking worried.

"She's cute," Blaise shrugged, still looking quite pleased.

"She's Loony Lovegood," Draco protested.

"I prefer to think of it as her having a unique outlook on life," Blaise said with a wide smirk at the Slytherin Prince. Draco shook his head and looked over at Pansy, who was staring at Blaise with a look of outrage. Draco rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

Lunch ended with no other major incidents and Harry and Draco both rushed off to their next lessons. However, Draco was forced to watch Harry leave before him when a hand grabbed him and pulled him aside. He turned, annoyed, and saw Hermione Granger staring up at him defiantly.

"Get your hands off of me, Granger," he hissed, glaring at her menacingly. She released him and took a step back warily. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what you're doing with Harry." She said bravely.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Granger," he sneered at her. She frowned, looking annoyed.

"Harry is my best friend, of course it's my business," she said angrily.

"Some friend you are," he said dismissively, turning to leave.

"What?" She protested. "Trying to support him in his choices, take the blinkers from his eyes so he can realise how he feels?"

"He's in denial Granger," he said coldly. "Let him figure it out on his own. He'll only fight you every step of the way if you keep trying to push it in his face." She frowned, considering this.

"You like him, don't you?" She said quietly.

"That's not your concern, Granger. Just leave him alone," he said, turning and walking away. She stood in the same place looking after him and thinking hard. Perhaps there was some merit in what Malfoy had said.

***

Harry sat in the back of the Charms class, wondering what was keeping Malfoy. He could have sworn that the Slytherin had been right behind him when he left the Great Hall. After a few minutes, Draco swept in, sitting down and facing the front without comment.

"What happened to you?" Harry whispered, looking at him in concern. Hermione bustled in as well and took her seat next to Ron. Harry looked from Hermione to Draco in confusion. "You were talking to Hermione."

"Don't worry about it Harry," Draco said quietly, shaking his head.

"For now,' he vowed. "But don't forget about the talk we need to have later on." Draco nodded slightly and harry turned his attention towards Professor Flitwick, although he didn't listen to a word he said. His attention was focused on what Hermione and Draco could have been talking about, as well as trying to guess what had do upset Draco this morning.

The lesson flew by with little involvement from Harry. He knew that Draco would catch him up on the lesson later if he asked. The rest of the day blurred past and before he knew it he was sitting at dinner, trying to catch Draco's attention so that they could sneak away and talk. Unfortunately, Draco was deep in discussion with Pansy about something.

Harry frowned and pulled a piece of parchment from his bag, scrawling a few words on it. He transfigured it as Draco had done all in their third year and sent it over to him surreptitiously. Then he grabbed his bag and hurried from the room, pausing just outside the door to watch Draco.

The Slytherin caught the note, read it and looked over at Harry, giving him a quick nod. Harry nodded back and smiled, hurrying from the room and making his way outside. He strode down to the lake, placing his bag next to a tree. It was still light outside and Harry spent some time skipping stones over the lake. He smiled fondly as the Giant Squid lifted up a tentacle and swatted the stone away.

"Hey," Draco called out, making Harry turn to face him.

"Hey, Draco," Harry returned, walking over to where Draco had stopped. They sat down underneath one of the trees and looked at each other. Draco pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to Harry. He looked down at it with a frown.

"This letter, this is why you were so upset this morning?" Harry asked. Draco swallowed nervously and nodded. Harry leaned back against the tree and read Draco's letter. He blanched as he finished it and looked up at Draco in horror.

"Dumbledore? They want you to kill Dumbledore?" He asked, looking terrified. Draco nodded, looking down at his shaking hands. He had tried to put this out of his mind all day, but now the full implications of his mission were starting to sink in.

"Harry," he whispered. "What on Earth am I going to do?" Harry shook his head, feeling lost. How could the Death Eaters expect this of Draco? What chance did a boy have of defeating the most brilliant wizard of their age?

"We should tell someone, Draco. You need help," Harry told him seriously. Draco shuddered.

"Do you think I should speak to Snape? I mean, he's my Godfather," Draco asked him.

"I don't know Draco," Harry said dubiously. "He's a Death Eater. I know he might be Dumbledore's spy but no one really knows what sides he's on."

"He's a spy?" Draco asked, looking intrigued. Harry fidgeted.

"Yeah, he's in the Order of the Phoenix," Harry explained. Draco closed his eyes, thinking this through.

"Then he sounds like the perfect choice. He can tell Dumbledore for me. They can help us decide what to do," Draco reasoned. Harry frowned and then shrugged.

"I guess it can't hurt. I still don't trust Snape though," he said quietly.

"Do you trust me, Harry?" Draco asked tentatively. Harry looked surprised.

"Of course I trust you," he said loudly.

"Then believe me when I say that Snape with my life. It will be ok," Draco reassured him softly. Harry nodded.

"Alright, we'll go talk to him," Harry conceded. They stood up and walked side by side back towards the castle, both lost in thought. Draco was risking a lot by telling Professor Snape about his mission and Harry could only hope that it was the right decision.

**A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me everyone. I've got some great ideas so it shouldn't take too long for the next chapter to be up. Please keep sending me your wonderful reviews, I do so love a full inbox in the morning. All ideas are welcome as well =] Shout out to Numero Uno for her gushing review, she's totally rad. Kudos to her for being the inspiration for this story!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello my lovelies. Unfortunately, this may be the first chapter for a little while. Moving to the big city on Saturday and starting uni so stuff could get crazy. I promise I will try my best though! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, and a big thankyou to my muse who appeared as Numero Uno on the reviews page =] **

**T****his chapter is a bit serious but you know you'll love it anyway =] Ambi xx**

**Chapter Five: Fidelius Charm**

Harry stood in front of the door silently. So much counted on this one decision; to tell, or not to tell? If Draco had the courage to tell others about his mission and get help he may live and remain innocent, but it was highly likely that his family could be murdered. However, if he stayed quiet to protect himself and his family, then he would have to find a way to kill Albus Dumbledore, betraying Harry's friendship forever and crippling the Order of the Phoenix.

Beside him Draco took a deep, shaky breath. Harry turned towards him, concerned by how pale and tired his friend looked. No matter what he chose, Draco had much to lose and it showed in his countenance. Harry put a hand on his shoulder, causing the blonde to look over at him with a tight smile.

"Are you ready for this, Draco?" Harry asked him tentatively. The boy shuddered and gave a quick nod. Harry knocked on the door and jumped back, surprised when it flew open.

"I thought you were going to stand there all night," Professor Snape spat out, glaring down at the two boys. "What's this about then?" Harry looked around the corridor cautiously. Snape noticed this and gestured for them to enter his office.

They sat down, while Snape settled down behind his desk, his black eyes studying them narrowly. Harry looked over at Draco, who was staring down at his hands looking sick. Harry decided to begin before the other boy lost his nerve.

"Draco got a letter from his father this morning," Harry said quietly. Snape raised an eyebrow and looked over at him, frowning.

"Show me," he commanded quietly. Draco pulled the letter from his pocket and levitated it towards the Potions Professor. He caught it and read it quickly, looking outraged as he finished it.

"They can't possibly expect you to do this," he exploded. Draco looked at him blankly.

"Of course they don't. The Dark Lord expects me to fail, perhaps even wants me to. This mission is punishment for my father failing his mission last year and being imprisoned in Azkaban. If I fail, my father will be killed. If I succeed, then the only man he has ever feared will be dead. The Dark Lord will win either way," he explained. Snape nodded while Harry looked stricken.

Snape stood up and began pacing back and forth across the room, muttering to himself. Harry turned and gave Draco a reassuring smile.

"You've done the right thing, Draco," he said, looking proud of his friend's courage. "It will be ok, you'll see." Draco nodded, feeling glad that he had Harry as a friend. He would never have had the courage to ask for help without the Gryffindor's encouragement and support. Somehow, he knew that Harry would come up with something to help fix this, he had faith in him.

"Draco," Snape said suddenly. "You understand that I must inform the Headmaster of this, correct?"

"Yes, Professor," Draco said wearily. Snape nodded.

"Follow me, both of you. We're going to go and see him now," he instructed. The two boys trailed after the Potions Master wearily. Draco was emotionally wrung out from the fear and worry that had overtaken him all day. He would be glad when he could finally get into his own bed and sleep.

Snape spoke the password and they walked up the steps that appeared, entering only to find the Headmaster sitting in his office waiting for them.

"Severus," he said with a nod. "Hello Harry, and Draco too I see. What can I do for you this evening?" Snape handed him the letter in response.

"Oh dear," Dumbledore said, looking dismayed. "We appear to be in a bit of a pickle." Draco snorted, causing Dumbledore to look up at him with a twinkle in his eye.

"You disagree?" He asked the Slytherin boy, looking amused. Draco clenched his jaw and shook his head, looking murderous. How could his father have gotten him into this position; offering him up as a sacrifice to placate the Dark Lord? As a result, his position now was untenable.

"Well," Dumbledore mused, "we need to find a way that Draco can be safe without betraying himself or others to Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The only way I can think of doing this is through the Fidelius Charm." Harry gasped.

"Yeah, because that worked so well last time," Draco said with a narrowed gaze at the Headmaster. At this, Dumbledore glanced over at Harry with a sad smile.

"Draco," Harry said softly. "It's alright." Harry looked at the Headmaster, "I'll do it, whatever it takes." Draco looked down at the ground and frowned stubbornly. The more he was forced to rely on Harry, the less he liked it. His entire fate rested in the hands of one sixteen year old boy, the Chosen One. A boy, who had up until recently loathed him and ridiculed him. A boy, who was being targeted by the most powerful Dark Lord to ever walk the Earth.

"Harry," Draco said uncomfortably. "You don't have to do this." Harry shook his head firmly.

"I do," he said, turning his brilliant green eyes onto the Slytherin. "I can't let you get hurt when I can do something to stop this." Draco nodded reluctantly.

"How do we do it?" He asked the Headmaster. Dumbledore, who had been looking back and forth between the boys, looked slightly perplexed.

"I must confess," he said slowly. "That I never thought I would see the day when the two of you would be able to come to some sort of agreement like this. It's baffling." Harry shrugged, while Draco avoided the Headmaster's gaze, instead staring stonily down at the ground. He knew that Dumbledore was a very accomplished legimens and he didn't him to see his new feelings for Harry. Dumbledore nodded slowly and then leant back in his chair with a chuckle.

"Very well, the Fidelius Charm is somewhat similar to an Unbreakable vow. Harry, you will vow to keep Draco's location a secret, meaning that he could walk right through the middle of the Great Hall and no-one will be able to see him. To the rest of the school it will be as if he has left Hogwarts unless you let them in on the secret," Dumbledore explained sternly.

"No owl will be able to find you, no spell will hit you, nothing left behind by you will be seen and you will walk the halls as if invisible. However, we will relocate you to your own room as another precaution. Harry, you will need to give the teacher's permission to view Draco's work so that he may continue with his education," Dumbledore continued.

"Headmaster, what about my mother?" Draco asked, looking concerned. "If it looks like I have gone missing, she will be punished in my stead, as will my father."

"Your father, I am afraid, I can do nothing about. However, I will invite Mrs Malfoy to stay here at Hogwarts for the interim of the war if that is what she wishes. Does this suit you?" He asked Draco with a smile. Draco nodded.

"Then it appears as if we are done here for now. Mr Malfoy, we shall Floo through to Malfoy Manor and collect your things as well as talk to your mother. As soon as we are all assembled here then we shall perform the charm, is this reasonable?" Everyone nodded.

"Do you want me to come?" Harry asked his friend with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Draco shook his head.

"I think that there are probably charms on my house that would prevent you entering, or at the very least announce your presence to the Death Eaters. It's safer if I go without you," Draco explained, to which Harry nodded reluctantly.

"Severus, if you take Mr Malfoy, Harry and I will wait here for your swift return," the Headmaster said with a kind smile at Harry. Snape nodded, and he and Draco disappeared through the large ornate fireplace.

"Now that we are alone, Harry. I wish you to explain to me this change of heart between yourself and Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. Harry smiled back reluctantly. He wasn't entirely sure what to tell him, or even if what little he could say was his story to tell.

"We're friends now, I guess after everything that happened last year and his father going to Azkaban he just wanted to call a truce. Once we stopped fighting we just realised how much we had in common and decided to finally become friends," Harry explained slowly.

"This is very encouraging," Dumbledore said with a wide smile. "I knew that Mr Malfoy wasn't a lost cause. Now, Harry, I think that perhaps it is time I taught you a rather useful skill." Harry sat forward, looking intrigued. Dumbledore stood up and walked over to his Penseive, beckoning Harry to stand beside him.

"Now, as you know Harry, this here is a Penseive. Although you are well acquainted with its use, you are probably unaware of how to locate and store your memories. A Penseive is very useful as it not only disciplines your mind, but it helps you to go over your memories, allowing you to notice things you may have previously missed," Dumbledore explained. Harry nodded along, seeing how this skill could become useful.

"I have many memories that I wish to show you, but there are also a few that I wish to see from you. What I wish you to do is focus on your first memory of Draco being civil to you this year. Let the memory fill your mind and senses until you can see it clearly in your mind's eye. Then you draw this memory out with your wand. Visualise the memory dissolving and siphoning from your mind through your wand and then place it in the Penseive," the Headmaster instructed. Harry nodded and closed his eyes to do as he was bid.

He thought back to that day in the Great Hall when Ron had nudged him, telling him that Draco had been staring at him. Later that morning he had opened the door for Harry, whispering something in his ear. It was also in that Potions lesson that they had first become partners. Harry gathered his memories of Draco from that day to well up to the forefront of his mind, and then with his wand he gently extracted them, placing the silvery contents into Dumbledore's Penseive.

"Very good, Harry," Dumbledore congratulated him. "Now, shall we view them?" Harry nodded and followed the Headmaster in placing his head in the Penseive, allowing himself to be pulled into the memories. When he was inside, he ignored everything else and just watched Draco.

As he had thought, Draco had been staring at him, a blush flitting across his features. Harry had never before seen the Slytherin blush. However, as before, he found it impossible to understand the emotions welling up in the boy's eyes.

They skipped forwards to his meeting with Draco and Pansy outside the Potions classroom, when he had been staring at them, marvelling at how similar they were to Ron and Hermione in their banter. He noticed that Draco had stiffened as soon as he had noticed Harry watching him and he flicked his eyes towards him imperceptibly. When Harry had turned away from the two Slytherins Pansy pushed Draco in his direction. Harry frowned at that, looking bewildered. Why would Pansy be pushing Draco towards him like that? It was bizarre.

When they entered the Potions room, Harry moved to stand in front of Draco, watching his reactions to everything. He did not seem to be concentrating on what Snape was saying, instead swapping notes surreptitiously with Pansy. Harry leaned forward to read what was said but Draco covered the note up when Snape walked past him to yell at Harry for not paying attention.

After this, Pansy wandered off to join Blaise and Draco sat there, looking down at his book with a frown. He slid the note into his bag, therefore not noticing until the last moment that Harry was sitting down beside him. They had talked for a few moments, Draco looking surprised while Harry looked surly. As Harry had bent over the potions ingredients, chopping them up, Draco had watched him with bright silver eyes.

Over the course of the two hours, Draco had watched him with various emotions flitting over his face; respect, astonishment, happiness and that emotion that Harry had never been able to read. None of them were things that he used to associate with the pale Slytherin.

When the memory ended, Harry floated in darkness and pondered what he had learnt from his memories of that first day of civility with Draco.

That Draco's emotions towards him had changed dramatically was immediately obvious. However, Harry could not think of what may have caused this change in the Slytherin. He shook his head and drifted up from the Penseive, stepping back from it to look at the Headmaster.

Dumbledore was rubbing his chin, looking thoughtful. Like Harry, the instances inside Harry's memories seemed to give him a lot to consider. Dumbledore walked over to his desk and sat down, with Harry settling into the chair across from him.

"Well, I find myself feeling much better about this whole thing after seeing that," Dumbledore said, sounding relieved. Harry looked up at him uncomprehendingly. "I wanted to make sure that Draco was sincere in his friendship with you, as well as in his change of heart towards the Death Eaters. It takes a load off my mind to see that he is." Harry nodded, feeling pleased.

A few moments later, the Floo flared up, with Snape, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy all stepping through. Harry and Dumbledore both stood up, looking comforted that they had returned safely.

"Ah Mrs Malfoy, I am very pleased that you could join us," Dumbledore welcomed her warmly. Draco's Mother nodded, the only sign of her discomfort was her hand twitching from where it was placed on Draco's shoulder.

"Thank you Headmaster," Draco said sincerely, looking very relieved now that he knew his mother was in no danger from the Death Eaters.

"I'm sure you understand that you will need to make an Unbreakable Vow, Mrs Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked her kindly, again the Malfoy matriarch nodded in response. "Well, in that case, let us begin. Harry, if you would, I think we will proceed with the Unbreakable Bow to begin." Harry stood up, moving to where Dumbledore and Narcissa were now standing.

"Link arms, please," Dumbledore instructed. They both complied. The Headmaster pointed his wand at them and a white glow began to form from their linked arms.

"Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, now formally renounce your ties and allegiance to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters?" Dumbledore asked.

"I swear," Narcissa said, her voice firm and unwavering. The white glow began to form into line that bound their arms together.

"Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, swear your allegiance to your son, this school and the Order of The Phoenix, the champions of the light?" Dumbledore continued.

"I swear," was the response. Harry winced as the bonds began to thicken and tighten around his arm.

"Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, swear that all you learn from this moment forward will be kept secret from all agents of evil, upon pain of your own death?" Dumbledore asked finally.

"I swear," she said, her voice now trembling as her bonds to Harry tightened painfully before receding.

"It is done," Dumbledore said, looking immensely relieved. Harry watched with a small smile as Draco pulled his mother into a brief hug. Despite all appearances, he knew that Draco loved his family dearly and would do anything to keep them safe.

"Now, Draco, you come and stand before Harry so that we may perform the Fidelius charm. Link arms as before," Dumbledore instructed. Draco walked quickly over to Harry, clasping his arm with a smile. Harry returned the smile and looked quizzically at the Headmaster. "Narcissa, place your arm on Draco's left shoulder." She stepped forward to do just that.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore began, pointing his wand at their linked arms, "you are charged with the protection of Draco Malfoy, including his location and all his secrets, and the location and secrets of his mother, Narcissa Malfoy. This is a great responsibility; only those who you pass this information on to will be able to find him. Do you swear to protect Draco and Narcissa with your own life?'

"I swear," Harry said softly. Dumbledore nodded, looking pleased. He flourished his wand in a complicated series of flicks and waves and then pointed it at Harry's heart.

"Fidelius!" He cried out, and a beam of brilliant blue light shot straight towards Harry's chest. Draco and his mother were enveloped in the blue glow, and to all but Harry, disappeared from sight. "It is done," Dumbledore said with a smile. Harry exchanged a smile with Draco and then turned to look at the Headmaster.

"What do I do now?" he asked him seriously. Dumbledore handed him a quill and some parchment.

"I have written down on here where the Malfoy's rooms are now located. All you have to do is read and sign it, and show it everyone in this room so that we can all see each other once again," he told him with a smile. Harry nodded, and leaned forward to sign his name on the parchment before him. Walking around the room, he showed it to Dumbledore and Professor Snape until they could again see Draco and Narcissa.

"Now, it has been a long and tiring evening. Professor Snape will show you to the rooms and you can all go to bed," Dumbledore said as he sat back down in his chair wearily. With heartfelt thanks to the Headmaster, the four of them left the room.

Harry and Draco followed after Snape and Narcissa as they walked up a few flights of stairs. They stopped in front of a large portrait of Godric Gryffindor on a horse. Harry smirked, the irony not lost on him.

Harry stepped forward to allow Godric to read the note and to set the password for the room (_Hippogriff_). With a nod, Godric allowed them to pass through the door into a very beautiful living area.

"The bedrooms are through here," Snape gestured, drawing their attention towards two doors to one side of the room. Harry glanced inside them, unsurprised by the expensive decor and Slytherin green they contained inside. Walking past him, Draco placed a small wooden box on the bed, enlarging it with a spell to reveal a large trunk filled with his possessions.

When they walked back into the living area, it was to see that Professor Snape had left, leaving them to their own devices. The door to the other room was shut, indicating that Narcissa had already retired. They sat down on the couch, looking at each other, overwhelmed.

"Well, that was not what I expected," Draco admitted.

"I know what you mean," Harry replied. "I should go; it's been a really long day." He stood up, looking down at Draco. He needed some time to think about everything.

"Alright," Draco responded. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow. We can have fun pranking all the people who can't see me," Draco smirked. Harry nodded and waved as he left the room. He walked over to where the Gryffindor tower was located, thankfully on the same floor, and let himself in.

Ron and Hermione were both sitting on the couches, looking worried. They stood up when he walked in. He scowled at them and brushed past them up to his dormitory. After everything that had happened that night, he didn't really feel like a heart-to-heart. He had Draco, and that was all he needed for now.

***

Waking up the next morning in his new room was bizarre for Draco. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around in confusion. Slowly, the events of the day before began to trickle through his mind. He lay back down with a sigh. It would feel strange, living with his mother and still attending lessons although no one would be able to see him. He could see the advantages in this, but he also anticipated it quickly becoming lonely.

He shook his head in derision and got out of bed, showering in his adjoining bathroom and getting ready for school. Draco stood in front of his wardrobe with a frown, clad in only a fluffy white towel when a knock sounded at the door. He looked down at himself, shrugged, and went to answer it.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head when Draco opened the door, a white towel hanging low on his hips. He swallowed thickly when his eyes were drawn to the line of silver hair that arrowed down his stomach. Draco coughed, hiding a smirk behind one hand and hitching his towel up higher with his other.

"Harry, you're here early," Draco said, inviting him in with a smirk. Harry blushed and looked away as he walked past him. Inside his mind, Draco allowed himself a small victory dance. Perhaps Harry was finally starting to come around.

"Yeah, it's a bit awkward in the Common Room at the moment because of my fight with Ron," Harry shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. Draco wasn't fooled.

"Fair enough," he replied. "I was just trying to decide whether to wear my school robes or just wear whatever I want. It's not as if anyone will be able to see me anyway." Harry frowned.

"I think I'd just wear whatever I want," he said slowly. Draco nodded, looking pleased. He turned to regard his wardrobe with a frown. If Harry would be the only one who could see him during classes, he should wear something really scandalous that would make him uncomfortable. It would amuse him to no end to have Harry trying to explain to his friends and teachers why he was blushing. Yes, he would have a lot of fun with this.

He pulled out his wand, flicking through his clothes with a critical glare. He needed something that would drive Harry crazy without being too flamboyant. Draco came across a pair of form-fitting leather pants and smirked. They were perfect. Harry would spend all day staring at his wonderful ass. The question now was what to wear with it.

A few shirts looked promising but Draco finally settled on a white shirt that opened at his front, showing his chiselled chest. It was a little cliché, but it did serve its purpose. He turned to look at Harry, who was fidgeting near the bed.

"Harry," he said with a smirk. "Do you mind?" Harry looked at him uncomprehendingly. Draco looked meaningfully from his own half-naked form to Harry, and then to the door. Comprehension dawned.

"Oh, of course, sorry," he stuttered. "I'll wait in the living room."

"Thanks, Harry," Draco said cheerfully, dropping the towel. This allowed Harry a fleeting glance at Draco's naked form before the door was shut in his face. Harry turned a shade of red that rivalled even Ron's hair and fled to the couch.

"I am not gay, I am not gay," he chanted, while trying to rid his mind of the enticing image of Draco's naked body. A few moments later, Draco strode out of the room, pausing a metre in front of Harry with a flourish.

"What do you think?" Draco asked, trying desperately to hide his smirk. Harry swallowed painfully, his eyes fixated on his friend's leather-clad form.

"You look good," Harry said, looking uncomfortable. Was it really necessary for Draco to dress in life as he did in Harry's dreams? Someone somewhere had it in for him and his heterosexuality. He was sure of it.

"Shall we?" Draco gestured towards the door. Harry nodded, walking slowly behind his friend, completely entranced by Draco's swaying ass. Harry sighed, looking glum. This was going to be another very long day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Love is a battlefield**

Harry Potter was completely fed up with one Draco Malfoy, Slytherin extraordinaire. All week he had taken complete advantage of his hidden status to go on a pranking spree. This would be fine if Harry wasn't getting the blame for it all.

Currently, Draco was hovering over a group of third year Gryffindor's, cackling wildly as he enchanted their goblets to tip over their heads. Harry looked over to the teacher's table, feeling resigned as he saw the Headmaster watching Draco's antics with a bemused smile and merry eyes. There would be no help from there. Even Snape seemed to be looking in the other direction. It was all up to him then; this pranking must end.

He stood up, walking over to Draco and quietly stunning him. Another whispered spell sent Draco floating into the air and Harry propelled him from the room. Quickly, Harry hurried up the stairs to Draco's rooms and then enervated him. The Slytherin sat up immediately, looking furious.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Draco asked angrily, brushing himself off with pale, immaculate hands. Harry sat down on Draco's bed and looked seriously at his friend.

"We really need to talk, Draco," Harry said, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sick of getting in trouble with the professors because of your pranks. I don't think you're being serious about this." Draco looked insulted at this and rose to his feet gracefully.

"Listen here, Saint Potter," Draco spat, "just because I'm having a bit of fun doesn't mean that I'm not taking this situation seriously. One misstep could lead to my death and the death of my family. I know that, I just don't want to wallow in self pity and agonise over my life. I'm not a Gryffindor." Harry shifted in his seat, looking a little ashamed.

"I know that," he responded quietly. "I just think you need to be aware of how your actions are affecting me. I can't concentrate in any lessons because I'm so worried about what you're going to do next, or you're trying to make me look foolish in some way."

"You mean the touching," Draco said with a smirk. Harry nodded, blushing. When Draco hadn't been pranking their fellow students or teachers, he had been sitting close to Harry; whispering in his ear and touching him whenever possible. Harry had found it very distracting and embarrassing. He'd never had someone lather so much attention on him before and it made him very uncomfortable.

"Don't you enjoy me touching you, Harry?" Draco asked, looking down at Harry predatorily. Harry's mouth ran dry and he swallowed thickly.

"I'm not gay," he said, looking away from Draco's knowing glance. The Slytherin moved closer to Harry and sat beside him.

"Are you sure about that, Harry?" He purred, running a finger along Harry's arm seductively. Harry shuddered, and Draco moved his hand onto the Gryffindor's leg, stroking it softly.

"Stop," he whispered, shutting his eyes.

"Harry, look at me and tell me you don't want me," Draco said insistently. Harry opened his eyes, blushing as he met Draco's piercing silver gaze.

"I don't know what I want," he said, looking down at his hands. Draco was silent for a moment and then he grabbed Harry's hands in his own.

"Kiss me," he said seriously. Harry met his gaze, startled.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

"It makes sense, if you kiss me and you feel nothing, then you know you're straight. If you do feel something, well then we'll go from there I guess," Draco explained. Harry thought this over for a few moments and then shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to know one way or the other.

"Alright," he said, looking nervous. Draco's eyes gleamed. "Shut your eyes," Harry whispered, blushing. The Slytherin complied, and Harry took the opportunity to study him.

Draco's skin really was pale, bordering on translucent; it almost seemed to glow in the light. The pale strands of blonde hair that framed his face only seemed to enhance this effect. His cheekbones were high and sharp, giving him an aristocratic look that was probably thanks to his pureblood breeding. Overall, he was quite breath-taking; beautiful yet still masculine.

Harry leaned forwards, inhaling Draco's spicy scent, his heart racing with anticipation. His mouth hovered over the other boy's, hesitating. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then bravely pressed his lips against Draco's softly.

He froze, marvelling in the way his heart was racing as Draco sighed quietly into his mouth. Was it supposed to feel like this? Like the focus of your entire world had narrowed until all you could see, feel, taste was the person in front of you? They kissed slowly, gently, sensually, mouths meeting and clinging in dizzying embraces.

Draco pushed Harry against the side of the couch, pressing against him as he deepened the kiss. Harry slid his arms around Draco's neck, pulling him closer, until they felt like one person. Their mouths clashed, meeting passionately as they fought for dominance. Harry whimpered as Draco pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and sucked it gently.

Finally, they parted, gasping for breath. Harry stared up at Draco as he panted, panicking as he saw the desire in his gaze. This was unnatural; he wasn't gay, and he shouldn't feel this way about another boy. He shouldn't feel his heart pound from a look or a touch; he shouldn't obsess over what Draco was thinking or how he was feeling.

Harry scrambled to his feet, stepping away from Draco. He shut his eyes and pressed his hands against his eyes.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" He muttered. "It's not supposed to be like this." Draco sat up, looking concerned and uncertain.

"Harry, what's wrong?" He asked, getting to his feet.

"I can't do this," Harry said, turning to flee the room. Draco ran forward and grabbed his arm before he could leave.

"Don't leave. Please tell me what you're thinking," he pleaded desperately. Harry shook his head stubbornly, trying to pull his arm from the Slytherin's grip.

"Let me go," he whispered. Draco pulled him away from the door and forced Harry to look at him.

"I can't just let you go, not until you tell me what's wrong," Draco said, looking upset. "Didn't you like it?" Harry shuddered.

"Draco, please, I can't. I can't do this," Harry pleaded.

"No," Draco said firmly. Harry slumped, looking defeated. "Did you like kissing me?"

"Yes, far too much," Harry whispered, staring resolutely at the ground.

"Then what's the bloody problem? I like you, you like me, what else is there?" Draco growled. Harry paled and pulled himself from Draco's grip.

"I'm the Boy Who Lived," he protested. "I'm supposed to be a hero. People look up to me. What the hell would everyone think if I suddenly pronounced that I was gay and dating the son of one of the most well known Death Eaters in Britain?" Draco's face darkened in anger.

"What the hell does it matter what other people think?" He demanded. "How we feel should be more important than that."

"Draco, I'm sorry. Please don't be upset with me," Harry pleaded.

"How could I not be upset with you? You want to put other people's opinions before us potentially having a relationship, before even your own happiness! That's completely ridiculous," the Slytherin fumed.

"You don't understand," Harry said weakly. "I have responsibilities."

"That's complete and utter rubbish," Draco said waspishly, his cheeks turning red as his temper flared. "I can't believe that you're standing there and spouting this trash to me. I thought you were better than this." Harry stared at him dumbly, looking stricken.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. He truly didn't want to upset Draco; he had grown very fond of the pale Slytherin boy and treasured his friendship. However, entering into a relationship with him would only create problems. Draco turned away from him.

"Get out," he hissed. "Don't bother fucking coming back. I don't need your help and I certainly don't need your apologies." Harry paled and walked towards the door.

"If things were different…" he trailed off as Draco whirled towards him.

"Get out!" He yelled, picking up a book from the table and hurling it at the door. It slammed against it and slid down, landing with a thump on the ground. Harry shut the door and leaned against it, shutting his eyes. Everything was such a mess; he was gay and had feelings for the enemy and he couldn't possibly be with him.

Too many people depended on him; he couldn't be distracted from his path. Voldemort must die and he had to be the one to kill him. That's all there was for him now.

After he had run away from Draco, Harry had been summoned to Dumbledore's office. The tumultuous events of that night would be burnt into his mind forever.

He had known that Pansy was misguided but for her to have had a hand in Dumbledore's death, no matter how reluctantly, hardened his heart against her. Yes, she was Draco's friend, but now she was the enemy. The next time he saw her, there would be a reckoning.

Harry stayed only long enough for the funeral. The task that Dumbledore had given him was more important than finishing school, even if it wasn't even halfway through the year. Naturally, Ron and Hermione decided to go with him, but he couldn't sum up the courage to speak to Draco and ask him to follow him as well.

Still, Harry wrote to the fair-haired boy, begging for his forgiveness and patience. Every day, they returned, unopened.

A letter from Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy, unopened;

Draco,

I'm sorry I ran away. I was so confused. I never wanted things to be like this. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you before I left. Our mission is vital to the war and I really had no choice. Well, I did have a choice, you always have a choice, but I guess I chose the world. That sounds really horrible. Ugh, I'm so crap at this.

I miss you, Draco. I can't tell you where I am but I wish you were here. We're camping at the moment. You would hate it. I can't picture you roughing it out in the wilderness. It's nice here though, I love lying under the stars at night. I always pretend I know where your constellation is. I wish I'd paid more attention in Astrology, maybe then I would know.

One day, when this war is over, I promise I'll make all this up to you. We'll start again and pretend none of this ever happened. Until then, I'll be thinking of you.

Harry

A diary entry from Hermione Granger;

Dear Diary,

I decided to start writing this because I don't know what will happen in the future. I want to keep everything recorded so that what we do here will never be forgotten.

Professor Dumbledore gave us a mission. He showed us some memories about Voldemort, memories that told us about his horcruxes. It's up to us to find and destroy them. We've made some progress and I can't risk writing much down here, but I don't think it will be much longer now until the final battle.

I wish that Harry would tell me what happened with Draco. He just suddenly disappeared, and Harry hasn't been the same ever since. I wonder why Draco left Hogwarts so suddenly; no one knows where he went. I guess all I can do is remind me that I'm here for him and that he can talk to me.

Ron is another problem. He's really starting to scare me with his obsession with Harry. He has even started to read this really weird Muggle book called Twilight. Last night I caught him sitting over Harry as he slept, watching him. I asked him what he was doing, and he replied that he was emulating his new hero, Edward, by watching his true love sleep. He blew up at me when I intimated that it was more than a little bit stalkerish, screaming that it was romantic. Thankfully, Harry woke up and agreed that it was creepy. Ron has been sulking in the corner of the tent ever since, pasting sequins to his skin. I really do worry about that boy.

"Harry," Hermione said firmly, making Harry look up from his current letter to Draco.

"What is it, Hermione?" He asked impatiently. "I'm busy."

"What? Writing yet another letter to Draco that will only return tomorrow unopened? Why do you bother, Harry? He left without a trace, obviously he just wants to be left alone if he's willing to go to such extremes," Hermione explained bluntly. Harry scowled at her.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he informed her snidely, returning to his letter.

"Don't ignore me, Harry! I am not a fool! I know that there is something going on that you're not telling me and Ron!" Hermione protested shrilly. Ron looked up from his Twilight scrapbooking to nod solemnly in agreement.

"I don't want to talk about Draco," Harry said dismissively. "Just leave it alone, Hermione."

"Why can't you admit that you're in love with him? You're gay Harry, you don't need to pretend you're straight with us, we love you as you are," Hermione said. Harry nodded absently as he continued to write.

"Yep, sure Hermione. That's great," he muttered. Ron sat down next to Harry and began stroking his hair with a look of awe on his face. Harry coughed and shuffled away from the flame haired Gryffindor.

"Hermione is right, Harry. I love you," Ron whispered into his ear, making Harry shiver with disgust.

"Ugh, Ron, piss off. You're my best mate, I don't see you that way," Harry protested. Ron pouted. "What's up with you anyway? You've been acting really weird lately."

"I'm acting completely normal," Ron said, looking shifty all of a sudden as he clutched Twilight closer to his chest.

"What _is_ that, Ron?" Hermione asked him, looking at the book closely.

"Only the best book of all time, Hermione," Ron said scathingly. Hermione looked intrigued.

"May I have a look at it, Ron?" She asked him sweetly. Ron eyes her suspiciously.

"Why?" He asked her, absently stroking the book's cover.

"I love books," she said brightly, "I just want to see if it would be something I like." He nodded seriously and handed it over to her. She studied it, frowning as she felt the waves of evil that emanated from the small black book.

"Where did you get this from, Ron?" Hermione asked him, looking concerned. Ron shrugged.

"I don't remember. I think I just found it and thought it was Ginny's but I decided to read it before giving it back," Ron explained.

"I see," Hermione mused, "how long ago was this?"

"A few weeks ago, not long before we left Hogwarts."

"What's it about?" She asked, curious. Ron clasped his hands together, his face lit up in rapture.

"Oh my god it's amazing! Twilight is such a passionate tale about forbidden love, Bella loves Edward but he's a vampire and he really wants to kill her but he loves her too so they can never be together. She just wants to make out but he wants to drink her blood so it keeps you guessing. I wish I had a boyfriend who was as hot and romantic as Edward. Some people say that he's an abusive boyfriend and a creepy stalker but they just don't understand him like I do. Oh, and he sparkles, it's so hot!" He gushed, oblivious to the looks of terror on Harry and Hermione's faces.

"Stab it with the sword," Harry hissed. "Something that evil must surely contain a piece of Voldemort's soul!"

"No!" Ron squealed, rushing at Hermione desperately. Harry tackled him to the ground and the boys writhed on the ground.

"Hermione, destroy it!" Harry shouted as he pinned Ron against the grass. Hermione ran into the tent and grabbed the Sword of Gryffindor, and then ran over to the book, plunging it into Twilight with a feral scream.

The book shuddered and wailed as it exploded in a shower of glitter. It rained down on them from the sky and covered everything around them. Harry looked down at Ron, concerned by how pale he was.

"I don't feel so well," Ron muttered, looking utterly ridiculous with glitter sticking to the surface of his pale skin and flaming red hair.

"On a more pleasant note," Hermione said frankly, "that was the last horcrux we can get for now. All that's left is that snake of his."

"Let's go back to Hogwarts," Harry said, standing and offering Ron his hand. Ron stood also and nodded.

A diary entry from Draco Malfoy;

I am Draco Malfoy, and I am utterly sick of the sound of my own voice. Fucking Harry Potter. Had to fucking leave and ruin everything. For just over three months now I have been left almost to my own devices, with only Mother, Snape and that crackpot Dumbledore for company. I may go crazy from pure boredom.

I feel so useless. I'm not used to doing nothing every day. Before, there was always a side to choose, a battle to fight, people to see, things to do, sometimes not necessarily in that order (I amaze myself with my wit sometimes). However, now there is only this tedious existence; all I can do is hide away in this castle, twiddling my thumbs until the battle is over.

I feel like a lesser man for hiding away like this; Malfoys don't hide, Malfoys don't run away like cowards. Well, my father might, but I've already proved that I'm nothing like him I think. When this war is over, I will remake the Malfoy name, I will rebuild our empire, our image.

And as for Harry Potter, well he needs to get over his crazy obsession with other people's opinions if he ever expects me to take him back, well, if I ever really had him in the first place…

Harry stood on the Astronomy Tower, looking down at the battlefield below him. The past few months had passed by in a blur; filled with destroying horcruxes and preparing for the Final Battle. Now here it was at last, his final confrontation with Voldemort.

Hermione and Ron stood at his back, as they always had, as they probably would for a long time to come. After his big fight with Draco, loneliness had pushed him back towards them. Hermione had accepted his weak explanations eagerly but Ron had taken longer to come around. However, seven years of friendship meant more to all of them than one silly fight.

He must push Draco from his mind now; he knows he is safe, angry, but safe. Neither Voldemort nor any of his Death Eaters would find him today, not while he drew breath. He watched sombrely as the initial battle was fought out below him. They fray was filled with Death Eaters, dementors, teachers, aurors and some of the students. It was a frantic struggle, with blinding flashes of magic disturbing the senses and creating confusion.

Ron leaned over the balcony, watching desperately as a group of flame haired Weasleys advanced upon a contingent of Death Eaters who appeared to be torturing some of the younger students. Harry winced as one of the figures toppled and Ron cried out in anguish.

"Who?" Hermione murmured. Harry shrugged. From such a great height it was impossible to tell which of the Weasley's had been hit. His gut clenched in fear as he thought of one of the Weasley's, his extended family, being injured or even killed in this war. The time for waiting and hiding in the shadows was over. This must end.

"Let's go," he said firmly. Hermione and Ron nodded, following closely as he hurried through the castle to where the battle was being held. They came across few people, the castle was deserted. Everyone they knew, everyone they cared for was outside. Harry sent up a quick prayer that Draco would stay out of harm's way. If the fight didn't go in his favour, the traitorous Slytherin would be quickly found and killed.

Harry set his jaw and pulled his invisibility cloak around him tighter. He moved into the fray, his eyes constantly moving around him in order to avoid colliding with any people or unfriendly spells. Running quickly, he pushed through until he reached the edges of the forest. Turning, he surveyed the battle behind him, feeling sick as he saw the unmoving bodies lying at the feet of allies and enemies alike. It was a depressing sight; war killed indiscriminately, neither the good guys nor the bad guys were safe from its dark embrace.

The fighting had stopped as they ran through the castle; Voldemort's cold voice had halted everyone in their tracks as they listened to his ultimatum. Give up Harry or die, blah blah blah, Harry thought irritably. It was a very predictable move, Draco would have scoffed at his lack of finesse, but it had given them the time they sorely needed. He looked to where Ron and Hermione were standing, side by side, their faces bleak.

"This is it," he said quietly, a fierce look crossing his face.

"Harry, what if something happens to you?" Hermione asked, looking worried. "What if our plan doesn't work?"

"I have faith in you Hermione," Harry responded. Hermione chewed on her lip, looking forlorn.

"It's so risky, Harry. What will happen if you die? What about Draco? If you die then the Fidelius fails, he'll be killed!" She questioned him.

"That's a risk I have to take, Hermione. Draco will be safe up in the castle. Who would think to look for him on the Seventh Floor behind a Godric Gryffindor tapestry? No-one; he'll be fine," Harry vowed. Ron cleared his throat.

"We should go," he said quietly. "The hour is nearly up."

"Wait," Harry said quietly, halting them in their tracks. "Promise me something?"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione said quietly. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Whatever happens, you'll look after him, won't you? If I die, you'll keep him safe? Promise me," he entreated them desperately.

"You love him, don't you Harry?" Ron asked him, looking down at the ground awkwardly. Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded. He closed his eyes tightly to ward off the tears. Shaking his head derisively, he swiped his hands across his eyes and squared his shoulders.

"If you see him, tell him I'm sorry," he instructed, avoiding their gazes. "Tell him I never meant it to be like this. I never meant to love him; but I do, with all my heart. Tell him… it was all for him, in the end. I was always thinking of him." Hermione nodded, smiling past the silent tears that ran down her cheeks. Ron pulled her to his chest and held her. Looking over her shoulder at Harry, he nodded slowly.

"I promise, Harry. If anything happens to you, I'll make sure he knows," he vowed.

"Thankyou," Harry whispered. Hermione pulled away from Ron and wiped away her tears. Striding over to Harry, she grabbed his hands and held them tightly.

"Harry," she whispered, sniffling quietly, "I just want you to know… I love you. You're a good friend and a true Gryffindor."

"I love you too, both of you," Harry said, deeply touched by her speech. He hugged Hermione and then shook hands with Ron in an awkward and manly fashion.

He stood back and looked at them, his two dearest friends for over seven years. They smiled at him fondly and he stored the memory away for safekeeping. He would always remember this moment; his two friends standing before him, hands clasped, hope and love shining in their eyes despite the grim background of red-stained snow behind them. Love conquered all, they proved that.

"Go, Harry," Hermione whispered. He nodded, and, with a final smile and wave, he turned and ran into the forest, ran towards his destiny.

The canopy of the forest blocked the light; what little light that filtered through made the shadows seem even more eerie. Every sound he heard seemed sinister; every shadow was a Death Eater lying in wait. Jumping at every movement, Harry slowly made his way deeper into the forest.

In the distance he could hear the sounds of battle resuming as Voldemort's voice again invaded Hogwarts threatening mass slaughter if they didn't give Harry up to the Death Eaters. Harry rolled his eyes at this; as if anyone in their right mind would believe that the slaughter would end with Harry's death. All it would achieve was a guaranteed victory for evil and the further rise of Voldemort's power in Britain.

Slowly he continued through the forest, further and further away from the sounds of fighting and deeper into the heart of the Forbidden Forest. He stopped, suddenly, as quiet conversation drifted towards him.

"They're here, I know it my Lord. Please, if I may only…" A man's voice said pleadingly.

"Crucio," hissed the sibilant voice that Harry immediately recognized as Voldemort. The other man screamed in pain. "You overstep your bounds, Lucius." Harry started. Draco's father was being tortured only a few yards away from him by Voldemort. He moved silently closer until he could see what was happening.

"Master, please," Lucius whimpered, cowering at the Dark Lord's feet. Voldemort looked down at him with contempt.

"My Lord," a female voice said. Voldemort turned to look at her and Harry moved sideways until he sighted Bellatrix Black kneeling before Voldemort.

"Bella," Voldemort said angrily. "You dare to interrupt me?"

"I apologise, my Lord," she said soothingly. "I only wished to make amends for my family's failings. Send me and I will fetch my traitorous sister and her son and return to you for punishment." Voldemort seemed to consider this, and then sneered down at her.

"What makes you think that you will succeed where even his closest of friends have failed, Bellatrix?" Voldemort questioned her condescendingly.

Harry leaned closer, straining to hear her response. However, before she could answer, an audible crack sounded throughout the small clearing. Three figures appeared, one cloaked in a dark cloak, their face hidden, and the other two bound at their feet.

"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort asked, sounding outraged. The figure swept back their hood, showing the pug-like face of Pansy Parkinson.

"My Lord," she murmured, bowing deeply. "I bring you Draco and Narcissa Malfoy." Harry gasped, his face stricken with fear.

"What are you talking about, Parkinson?" He demanded. "I see only you; explain yourself."

"You cannot see them because they are under Fidelius, my Lord," she explained, bowing again. Voldemort frowned.

"Where are they?" He asked her, looking at the ground closely.

"They lie bound at my feet, my Lord," she said confidently.

"Are you certain? You do not dare lie to me, do you, Miss Parkinson?" He said, watching her closely for any trace of dishonesty.

"No, my Lord, I am telling you the truth. The traitors lie at my feet, hidden from your eyes and touch by the protection of Harry Potter," Pansy said, looking down at the ground in front of her. Voldemort grew visibly angry at this.

"So they turned to the Potter boy for protection, did they?" He mused furiously, pacing across the clearing. "They dared to turn to my enemy for salvation?" He whirled around to look at Pansy, his face now composed.

"You can see them? Feel them?" He questioned her closely.

"Yes, my Lord," she replied.

"How?" He pressed her further.

"I overheard Potter talking to the blood traitor and the Mudblood. He disclosed their location to them and I went immediately to fetch them for your judgement. They weren't expecting me, and so I easily overcame them and stunned them," she explained slowly. Voldemort nodded, looking pleased.

"You have done well, Miss Parkinson. You will be rewarded for your loyalty to the Cause," he told her, looking almost happy. She nodded, her eyes lowered reverently.

Harry cursed her under his breath. How would he possibly get them all safely out from this situation? Draco would never forgive him if anything happened to his Mother and Harry could have saved her. Harry moved quietly around to where Lucius was standing. He had been surprised at first to see him there, but seeing as how Voldemort controlled the Death Eaters it can't have been that difficult to break him out of Azkaban.

Hidden under his invisibility cloak, Harry inched forward until his wand was pressed firmly into Lucius' back.

"Don't move," he hissed into the blonde man's ear. Than man stiffened and turned his head to the side to peer over his shoulder.

"If anyone realises I'm here, I'll AK you before you have the chance to blink. Do you understand?" Harry asked. Lucius nodded imperceptibly.

"Your son and wife are tied at Pansy's feet, only I and apparently Pansy can see them. I need you to somehow divert Pansy's attention so that I can get them to safety, can you do that?" Again, the man nodded slightly.

"You have ten minutes. I'll be watching," Harry vowed. He then retreated and found a new position from where he could hear and see everything. The Death Eaters chatted amongst themselves, evidently waiting for Harry to appear. Voldemort was pacing at the other end of the clearing, muttering to himself frantically and twirling his wand.

Harry watched closely as Lucius casually strolled over to Pansy and started a low conversation with her. She seemed confused and Harry frowned as she looked around the clearing and then looked down at where Draco and Narcissa were tied up. He wondered what excuse Lucius had come up with to get rid of Pansy.

After a short time, Pansy nodded and hurried out of the clearing towards the school. Harry watched her go, pleased. Now, he could make his way over to Draco and free him and his mother.

With a quick glance around at the Death Eaters, he saw that the way was now completely clear. Even Lucius had moved from where his family lay bound. This was the perfect opportunity.

Adrenaline pulsed through Harry's veins as he inched towards Draco. As he got closer, his heart beat rapidly in his chest as he could see the bruises blossoming on the pale blonde's face.

When he finally reached the Slytherin, Draco's eyes fluttered upon and he looked up at Harry dazedly. Harry gave him a reassuring smile which turned to a confused frown when he saw the alarm in Draco's face.

This was the last thing Harry saw as he toppled forwards, showing a triumphant Pansy standing behind him, holding her wand aloft.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry everyone! I'm a terrible updater! Here's the next chapter, and there's probably only one more to come after this. For avid Harry Potter fans, you'll notice that the fight between Harry and Voldemort is literally taken from the book. It's not my work at all, but Jk Rowling is a much better writer than me so I took an excerpt from her work and slid it in.**

**Chapter Seven: The Sacrificial Lamb**

The snap of a stick brought Harry suddenly into consciousness. He laid still, every part of his senses concentrating towards his right from where the sound had come. In his hypersensitive state, he could clearly hear someone walking towards him slowly, no doubt wary of him waking up and attacking them. Harry's inner voice, for some reason taking on the sarcastic drawl that was recognisably Draco, urged him to wait patiently;

_There's no point jumping up and charging towards them, you stupid Gryffindor. As long as they think you're unconscious, you have the advantage. _

Harry evened out his breathing and waited for his chance. The figure came up behind him and nudged him with their foot, rolling him from his side onto his front.

"Potter?" The person asked, and Harry tensed slightly, recognising Pansy's voice. However, he didn't respond, and Pansy whispered a spell that bound his wrists and ankles in chains. So much for Slytherin cunning, Harry thought wryly. With no wand, his hands and feet tied, surrounded by Death Eaters and with Draco as a hostage, there was no way for him to gain any advantage.

_Wait, _his inner Draco advised again. _You could learn something important. Pansy must want something, or you'd already be dead._

He saw wisdom in this, which he would never ever admit to Draco of course, but nonetheless, he remained silent and still.

Pansy used a levitation spell and Harry, still covered by his invisibility cloak, began to float out of the clearing. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see much of anything, just the ground rushing past as Pansy sent him forward.

After a few minutes they stopped, and Pansy dropped him onto the ground painfully.

"Wake up Potter, you git," she said snidely. Harry groaned and rolled over, pretending that he had only just awoken.

"Pansy? What's going on?" He asked her with fake bewilderment, looking around him in supposed confusion. Quickly, he took in his surroundings and was surprised to see that they were alone. He looked up at Pansy and narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

"What I want," she hissed angrily, "is for you to leave Draco alone. You don't deserve him, you never have and you never will. He might think he's gay but it's just a silly little phase. As soon as you're out of the picture, he'll finally be mine." Harry blinked, looking at her incredulously.

"You're actually quite serious about this, aren't you?" He questioned her. She nodded, looking fierce. Her look changed to confusion when he burst out laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing for, Potter?" She demanded.

"Do you honestly believe that Draco would ever want you? He told me once that he sees you as his sister, for Merlin's sake!" Harry informed her with a smirk.

"You're a liar," she shouted furiously.

"You're blind," Harry returned. She screamed and kicked his leg. Harry winced in pain but remained silent.

"No, I won't believe it," she said in a determined tone. "Draco loves me, I know he does." Harry rolled his eyes but still didn't answer.

"Now you listen here Potter," she said waspishly, brandishing her wand at him, "give yourself up. Too many people will die otherwise, especially now that there's no Dumbledore to protect them. Just go do what you should have done years ago, die.'

Harry shut his eyes, reminded of the Professor who had essentially been a grandfather to him. Pansy had been there the night he had died, given the task to kill him, though it had been carried out by Snape in the end.

She had been the one responsible, though, for the Death Eaters being able to enter the school, she had disarmed Dumbledore, she had watched as Snape was forced to finish the task. Anger filled him at this pathetic excuse for a witch. She could have done as Draco had, asked for help, asked to be hidden away from Voldemort and his minions. Instead, she had actively helped them, worked against Draco, against Harry, against the Order, against everything good and pure.

'Alright,' he sighed. 'Just let me free Draco and Narcissa and then I promise I'll give myself up.' Pansy nodded, looking pleased as she removed his bonds.

'I'm glad you're finally seeing sense, Potter. Just make sure they leave, run as far away as they can. If they're still around when you die, their protection is gone.'

'I'm aware of that,' he said grimly.

Pansy turned began to lead the way back towards the clearing. Harry rolled his eyes at her stupidity and levelled his wand at her back.

'Expelliarmus!'

Harry was in the exact same position as he had been nearly an hour ago, hidden away in the bushes as he watched Voldemort and his Death Eaters pace around the clearing. Draco and Narcissa were both awake now, and were whispering desperately. No doubt they were cooking up some cunning, Slytherin plan, but they didn't realise that is was unnecessary. He would save them.

With a quick glance, Harry assessed that it was safe to creep up to Draco. Thankfully he managed to do so without attracting any attention.

"Draco," he whispered, grabbing his arm. The pale boy started and whipped around.

"Harry!" He cried out, looking relieved. The look on his face lifted Harry's spirits, and he knew he'd made the right decision.

"Are you two ok?" Harry asked anxiously. Narcissa nodded, although she looked a little worse for wear. They were both filthy and bruised. Obviously Pansy had not been gentle with them on the way down from the castle.

"I have a plan," Harry whispered, always conscious that while the Death Eaters could not see or hear Draco and Narcissa, the same privilege was not accorded to him.

"Oh Merlin, please tell me it doesn't involve you sacrificing yourself or something else typically Gryffindor like that," Draco groaned. He took Harry's guilty silence as an answer and laughed at him derisively. "You never change, do you Potter?"

"It's not my plan, anyway," Harry said sullenly, "it's Pansy's."

"Oh, and that's supposed to reassure me, is it?" Draco retorted angrily.

"I don't care if you're reassured, I care that you're alive. This is how it has to be Draco," Harry said in a grim tone. Draco was furious but he recognised that there was little he could do to change the Gryffindor's mind.

"Fine, tell me this idiotic plan then,' he said, sullenly. Harry nodded, and then felt foolish, realising that of course that no one could see him.

"I'm letting you go now and the two of you need to run and find somewhere safe. No one will be able to see you except Pansy but I already dealt with her," Harry explained quickly in a hushed tone.

"Right," Draco drawled, "she's still alive, I presume?"

"Of course she's still alive. I might hate her guts but all she really wants is for me to stay away from you,' Harry said, sounding amused and also tired.

"I see, and this is different to what you've been doing for the past few months how, exactly?" Draco asked nastily. Harry sighed.

"Maybe you would understand better if you had opened my letters," Harry returned, allowing his frustration to enter his voice. Narcissa rested a hand on Draco's arm.

"Come now, dear," she said quietly. "This is not the time to be throwing accusations at Harry." Draco nodded, although he still looked annoyed. Harry felt guilty as he realised how the past few months must have impacted on the Slytherin. For someone who had thrived on attention throughout his years at Hogwarts, Draco must have found it difficult with only his mother and Snape to talk to.

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth," Harry offered quietly. Draco shrugged, showing that Harry's words meant very little. It would take more than a spoken apology for the blonde Slytherin to forgive him. An uncomfortable silence settled between, stretching out for a minutes as Harry took in the actions of the Death Eaters around them.

"Anyway," Harry said nervously, clearing his throat, "I want you to promise me something." Draco looked in his direction dubiously. "Just hear me out," he pleaded.

"Get on with it, Potter," Draco said dismissively.

"Right," Harry continued, "yes, well, I want you to promise me that you'll keep running. I'm not sure how long the protection will last." Draco narrowed his eyes at him, the implications of this statement immediately apparent to him.

"You want me to run so that I can get away before you die, is that what you're saying?" Draco spat out this question furiously. Harry's heart sank. Nothing got past the intelligent Slytherin boy. It was stupid for him to even try.

"Yeah," Harry responded sheepishly.

"Not a chance," Draco said firmly. "You can't possibly expect me to consider promising to something so ludicrous." Harry sighed.

"Well that was Pansy's plan," he explained, frustrated.

"It's a terrible plan," Draco retorted. Harry smirked. Although he had agreed with the basic ideals of Pansy's plan, he had known that Draco would never agree. Not that he would have told her that though. He needed at least one trump card in his pocket.

"Right, well, I've got a better plan anyway. You two are sort of perfect for this job," Harry admitted. Draco looked intrigued, while Narcissa was beginning to look anxious. It was obvious that she would have preferred the first plan, where she could get herself and her son out of harm's way.

"What's the plan?" Draco asked urgently. He seemed to sense from the tone in Harry's voice that it was important.

"It's about the snake, Nagini," Harry explained quickly. "We heard it's being kept in the Manor. It has to be killed."

"I remember it, I hated that snake" Draco said, looking surprised. "What's Nagini got to do with anything?"

"It's Voldemort's last horcrux; the last segment of his soul that we haven't already destroyed," Harry continued. Narcissa gasped.

"How do you know about that?" She asked, looking scandalised.

"Dumbledore's been looking for them for years," he admitted. "It's also why I left school; we've been hunting them down and destroying them one by one." Both of the Malfoys looked shocked.

"So," Draco said slowly, his mind racing ahead. "The snake is a horcrux?"

"Yeah, there's also Ravenclaw's diadem. It's hidden at Hogwarts but Ron and Hermione are taking care of it. After that there's only one more, but only I can get to it," Harry finished off his explanation. He closed his eyes and prayed hard that Draco wouldn't question that last part too closely. Thankfully, he seemed to take Harry at his word.

"Ok, so all we have to do is get to the Manor and kill the snake?" Draco asked doubtfully.

"As quickly as possible," Harry responded. "It should be fairly clear over at the Manor. It looks like most of the Death Eaters are here for the attack against Hogwarts." Draco nodded in agreement.

"Do you have our wands?" Narcissa asked Harry urgently. "Pansy took them from us at the castle." Draco looked disgusted, as if he still couldn't believe that Pansy had managed to get the better of him. Harry shook his head but took his spare wand from his robes and handed it to Draco.

'My wand was broken and this one was given to me by Ron so it'll have to do for now,' Harry said. Draco took it from him and waved it experimentally with a scowl.

'It'll have to do,' he shrugged. Harry removed their bonds using Pansy's wand and helped them to stand.

"Go now," Harry whispered, "and remember, I'm counting on you. I won't be able to defeat Voldemort without your help." Draco nodded, looking fierce and determined.

The Slytherin grabbed a hold of his mother and disapparated from the Forbidden Forest. Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief. Finally, Draco was out of harm's way and he could do what he had come here to do.

He walked towards the lone figure to the left of the clearing and pressed his wand into his back.

"Don't move," he commanded quietly.

Draco approached his ancestral home cautiously. He may be under Harry's protection, but when taking Harry's recklessness into consideration, there was no telling how long the Fidelius charm would last.

He was alone, having taken his mother to Andromeda's place, her sister. There was little point dragging her into this any further. He was more than capable of taking care of Voldemort's stupid snake.

When Draco had been staying at Malfoy Manor during the holidays, the snake had had the run of the place, but he seemed to recall that it had particularly enjoyed being in the kitchens where it could harass the house elves. If nothing else, it was a good place to start looking.

Sneaking in was easy; there was no-one to be seen anywhere. He made his way down to the kitchens quickly and peered through the door. Sure enough, a huddle of house elves were cowering up on one of the benches as the snake slowly slithered in circles around it. Its beady red eyes were focused on the elves so it didn't notice him coming until it was too late.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and then pointed his wand at the hideous snake that had terrorised him all during his holidays.

'Avada Kedavra,' he hissed, feeling the anger, fear and hate power along his wand as a green light flashed towards the large snake. Nagini froze, and then slumped to the ground, dead. Draco couldn't believe his eyes. It had been so easy, too easy.

The snake exploded in a cloud of thick, dark smoke, and a loud, furious scream rent the air. Draco dropped to his knees, clutching his hands to his ears, trying desperately to block out the sound. It seemed to go on forever, and when it was finally done, his head began pounding with a vicious headache.

Slowly, he made his way through the house, stumbling towards his bedroom where a vial of headache potion awaited him. Pinching his nose, he swallowed the potion in one go and massaged his temples until it began to kick in.

Draco sat there, on his bed, for quite awhile, just staring at the wall. Without him even noticing, half an hour went by. He knew that he should probably go back to Hogwarts to help in the battle, but he felt so tired. The unforgivable had taken more of his energy than he had realised, and Draco knew it was probably likely that shock was starting to set in. Sitting here was the worst thing he could do.

He stood up carefully, and wearily made his way over to his cupboard, pulling out another potion. This one was a Pepper-Up potion, and would keep him going until it was safe to rest. He grimaced as steam poured from his ears. He had always detested these potions, they were so unseemly.

Feeling somewhat better now, Draco disapparated back to the Forbidden Forest. The clearing where he had left Harry was now completely empty. With a frown, he cautiously trekked back towards the castle.

It was quiet, which worried him. There should be far more noise, surely the battle wasn't already over? He stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, trying to discern what was going on. There were still a few Death Eaters and Aurors outside, firing deadly spells at each other. Bodies, some still and some still moving and crying out in pain, littered the once pristine grounds of Hogwarts. He could see no sign of his father, Voldemort, or Harry.

He dodged around the skirmishes and began to make his way closer to the castle. It was dangerous but he kept an eye out for any wayward spells. A purple light flashed towards him and he ducked behind an Auror, who flicked it away with his wand and responded with a bright red stunner, which hit the offending Death Eater square in the chest. The man turned around, looking down at Draco with a worried frown.

'What are you doing out here, lad? Get into the castle,' he urged. Draco just stood there, gaping at him. The Auror could see him? But that meant...

Draco blanched as the forbidden thought floated into his mind. No, it was impossible, Harry couldn't be dead. His stomach clenched with fear as he turned and sprinted towards the castle.

Inside the Great Hall was absolute chaos. There were people everywhere yelling out violent spells, crying over still, silent bodies, dashing under tables to hide. He couldn't pick out any individual voices or faces; it was too much of an overload of information. It was a blur of motion and sound that made him feel slightly dizzy. He leaned against the wall for support and tried to clear his mind.

Frantically his eyes passed over the crowd, looking for that familiar mop of messy black hair. He would be here, flawlessly executing spells and dodging from the ones returned at him. He would be completely serious, focused on what was happening around him.

He couldn't possibly be dead, it was impossible. Only half an hour ago he had been standing in front of Draco looking vibrant and alive as he mentally prepared himself for his fated role.

Draco wanted to grab the nearest person and shake them, demanding them to tell him the truth about Harry, make them tell him that he was alright, that all hope was not lost. It would be a bad idea though, it would only draw attention to himself and either side would happily kill him.

A feeling of hopelessness suffocated him and he slid down the wall, curling in on himself to ward off the pain that threatened to split him in half.

All that was running through his mind was just his name,

'Harry, Harry, Harry…'

The voices around him grew louder and he burrowed his head into his knees, shutting them out. What did it matter? Harry was dead, they had lost. Everything was broken. All the noise died away and he sighed in relief.

'Harry!' A voice called out. He thought at first that it had been his own voice, crying out, but it wasn't filled with the pain and heartbreak that thrummed through his chest, but joy and relief. Draco's head whipped up towards the direction the voice had come from. There, he saw Neville, who had stopped fighting and was looking towards the doors of the Great Hall, a big grin spreading across his face. He followed the Gryffindor's gaze, wide-eyed, and saw him.

Emotions overwhelmed him: shock, relief, bewilderment, hope, and something more, something new. He couldn't put a name to it but it gripped his chest, almost choking him.

He looked fine, dirty and somehow singed, but miraculously, amazingly, alive. Those green eyes slowly took in the carnage before him and then settled on him, piercing him through the chest.

His look said a million things but the most prevalent seemed to be: I'm sorry. He gave Draco a firm nod and then, with Hermione and Ron at his sides as always, he ventured further into the room, seeking out his opponent.

Draco just gaped after him, feeling his elation deflating as panic took its place. What could Harry possibly do against the darkest wizard who had ever lived? He was barely even a man yet, only just seventeen.

Ignorant to Draco's hysterical thoughts, Harry stopped in front of Voldemort and threw something at his feet. Everyone in the Great Hall looked at it uncomprehendingly, while Voldemort just looked furious. It was some sort of tiara, though it was melted somewhat and Draco realized that it must have been the other horcrux that Harry had spoken of.

'Nagini?' He hissed at the raven-haired boy. Harry just gave him a what-do-you-think look and pointed his wand at the Dark Lord. 'No!' He shrieked, glaring at Harry poisonously. Draco felt a little bubble of pride grow in his chest at the outrage on his face. Take that Mouldyshorts! He thought triumphantly.

Harry and Voldemort were now facing off, the crowd of people around them pressing back against the walls as they slowly began to walk sideways in a circle, their attention focused solely on each other.

'_There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good…'_

'_One of us?' jeered Voldemort, and his whole body was taut and his red eyes stared, a snake that was about to strike. 'You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling all the strings?'_

'_Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?' asked Harry. They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that perfect circle, maintaining the same distance from each other, and for Harry no face existed but Voldemort's. 'Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?'_

'_Accidents!' screamed Voldemort, but still he did not strike, and the watching crowd was frozen as if petrified, and of the hundreds in the Hall, nobody seemed to breathe but they two. 'Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!'_

'_You won't be killing anyone else tonight,' said Harry as they circled, and stared into each other's eyes, green into red. 'You won't be able to kill any of them, ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you hurting these people-'_

'_But you did not!'_

'_I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?'_

'_You dare-'_

'_Yes, I dare,' said Harry, 'I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?'_

_Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, and Harry knew that he kept him temporarily mesmerized and at bay, held back by the faintest possibility that Harry might indeed know a final secret…_

'_Is it love again?' said Voldemort, his snake's face jeering, 'Dumbledore's favourite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the Tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter – and nobody seems to love you enough to run forwards this time, and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?'_

'_Just one thing,' said Harry, and still they circled each other, wrapped in each other, held apart by nothing but the last secret._

'_If it is not love that will save you this time,' said Voldemort, 'you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?'_

'_I believe both,' said Harry, and he saw shock flit across the snake-like face, though it was instantly dispelled; Voldemort began to laugh, and the sound was more frightening than his screams; humourless and insane, it echoed around the silent Hall._

'_You think you know more magic than I do?' he said. 'Than I, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?'_

'_Oh, he dreamed of it,' said Harry, 'but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done.'_

'_You mean he was weak!' screamed Voldemort. 'Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!'_

'_No, he was cleverer than you,' said Harry, 'a better wizard, a better man.'_

'_I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!'_

'_You thought you did,' said Harry, 'but you were wrong.'_

_For the first time, the watching crowd stirred as the hundreds of people around the walls drew breath as one._

'_Dumbledore is dead!' Voldemort hurled the words at Harry as though they would cause him unendurable pain. 'His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle. I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!'_

'_Yes, Dumbledore's dead,' said Harry calmly, 'but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant.'_

'_What childish dream is this?' said Voldemort. But still, he did not strike, and his red eyes did not waver from Harry's._

'_Severus Snape wasn't yours,' said Harry. 'Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?'_

_Voldemort did not answer. They continued to circle each other like wolves about to tear each other apart._

'_Snape's Patronus was a doe,' said Harry, 'the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized,' he said, as he saw Voldemort's nostrils flare, 'he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?'_

'_He desired her, that was all,' sneered Voldemort, 'but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him-'_

'_Of course he told you that,' said Harry, 'but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!'_

'_It matters not!' shrieked Voldemort, who had followed every word with rapt attention, but now let out a cackle of mad laughter. 'It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand!'_

'_Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy – I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!'_

'_Yeah it did,' said Harry. 'You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done… think, and try for some remorse, Riddle…'_

'_What is this?'_

_Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this. Harry saw his pupils contract to slits, saw the skin around his eyes whiten._

'_It's your one last chance,' said Harry, 'it's all you've got left … I've seen what you'll be otherwise … be a man … try … try for some remorse … '_

'_You dare-?' said Voldemort again._

'_Yes, I dare, said Harry, 'because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle.'_

_Voldemort's hand was trembling on the Elder Wand and Harry gripped Draco's very tightly. The moment, he knew, was seconds away._

'_That wand still isn't working properly for you, because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore.'_

'_He killed –'_

'_Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!'_

'_But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!' Voldemort's voice shook with malicious pleasure. 'I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!'_

'_You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard… the Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance …'_

_Voldemort's chest rose and fell rapidly, and Harry could feel the curse coming, feel it building inside the wand pointed at his face._

'_The true master of the Elder Wand was Pansy Parkinson.'_

_Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face for a moment, but then it was gone._

'_But what does it matter?' he said softly. 'Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: we duel on skill alone … and after I have killed you, I can attend to Pansy Parkinson …'_

'_But you're too late,' said Harry. 'You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Pansy in the forest. I took this wand from her._

_Harry twitched the Hawthorn wand and he felt the eyes of everyone in the Hall upon it._

'_So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?' whispered Harry. 'Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand.'_

_A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them, as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Pansy's wand:_

'_Avada Kedavra!'_

'_Expelliarmus!'_

_The bang was like a cannon-blast and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead centre of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air towards the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backwards, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upwards. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snake-like face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell._

Draco stood up, slowly and shakily, watching, dumbfounded as everyone began to converge around Harry, screaming his name, cheering, crying, laughing. It was bizarre, but he had never felt more invisible, even after months spent in only his own company. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Hero, the unattainable, the boy who had protected him and hidden him, the boy who had made his heart race, the boy who had ran away from his own feelings, they boy who was now a man, Harry, had won, had defeated Voldemort, had actually freaking done it.

He shook his head disbelievingly and chuckled wryly to himself. It was typical Harry, really, to come out on top despite the ridiculous expectations heaped upon him, despite the challenges he needed to overcome, despite everything. Now he could finally live his own life, free at last, and Draco wondered where he would fit in with that newfound freedom.

Probably nowhere, he thought sadly, and with that, he turned and left the Great Hall.

Harry saw him go, of course, and inwardly flailed. Defeating Dark Lord's was so much easier than confronting Draco, and he wondered where all his courage and bravado had gone. He could feel his face turning red as his hands felt all cold and clammy.

He watched indecisively as a few Aurors moved Voldemort's body into a chamber off the Great Hall. This is where he should be, with the students and teachers and Aurors and ministry officials and parents and witches and wizards who were assembled here but he was so tired, and all he wanted to do was find Draco.

Everyone's attention was averted from him as they sought out their loved ones, sharing their loss and grief and elation and relief. He slipped on the invisibility cloak and wandered around, taking everything in. So many faces gone, friends who were like his family, cold and still on the ground, but also many who were alive, even uninjured.

Eventually he came upon two friends that he had unconsciously searched for. He sat between them on the bench and held their hands tightly.

'Why are you hidden under the cloak?' Ron asked quietly. Hermione huffed at him, thinking it obvious.

'It's all just a bit much,' Harry said tiredly. Ron nodded and squeezed his hand.

'I saw Draco leave,' Hermione said in a hushed tone.

'Yeah, I did too. I should probably go find him,' Harry responded.

'What will you say to him?' She asked, sounding worried. He laughed dryly, feeling anxious again.

'No idea,' he admitted.

Hermione pulled her hand away and then ruffled through the bag that still miraculously hung at her side. She pulled out a huge roll of parchment and pressed it into his hands.

'Give these to him,' she said with a knowing smile.

'Are those the letters?' Ron asked, smirking a little. Hermione nodded, looking pleased.

'He sent them all back, but I knew he'd want them eventually. This seems to be as good a time as any,' she said.

'Thanks Hermione,' Harry said hoarsely, feeling emotion overcome him. He had amazing friends.

'Go get him,' Ron snickered.

Harry slipped off the bench, whispering a farewell. He had already won one great battle today. Hopefully he was on a roll.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Stubborn as a Malfoy**

Harry found the blonde sitting up in the Quidditch stands, which were miraculously undamaged considering the ferocity of the battle. He stood there for a few moments, just looking at him. He looked frail, with his knees drawn up to his chest and his chin resting on top of them, his arms seemingly holding him together. Something about Draco's eyes was haunted and again Harry felt the guilt overwhelm him. Harry knew that he had made the right decision in the end, but still he regretted all the hurt he had caused this boy. Draco noticed him then, and Harry moved closer.

'How are you feeling?' Harry asked quietly, sitting down next to him.

'Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?' Draco said and turned his face to look at him. Harry merely shrugged.

'I dunno, I feel relieved mostly. It's weird though,' he said, a hand reaching up to rub against his scar, 'I never realised how much of an influence Voldemort had on my mind and body. My scar doesn't hurt anymore and I guess I feel… lighter, or something.' Draco said nothing, just continuing to look up at him with hooded eyes. 'It's silly,' Harry sighed.

'It's not silly,' Draco said finally, looking away. 'You had a part of his soul inside you and he was completely evil. It makes sense, I guess, that it had such an impact on you.' Harry considered this and followed Draco's eyes out onto the pitch. As he watched the rays of the rising sun glistening against the morning dew that covered the grass below them, he felt a sense of peace rise in his chest.

The silence stretched on as they both wondered what to say next. Eventually it was Harry who summoned up the courage to break the silence.

'Draco,' he said, and the Slytherin boy again turned to regard him, though his face was a blank, unreadable slate. He had always been fairly easy to read before, when they were enemies. Yet now, Harry realised that the more he had come to know about the boy, the less he really knew. He could only hope that the blonde would let him in more now that the danger that had threatened their lives for so long was finally gone.

'Yes, Harry?' He responded.

'I wanted to say… I'm sorry,' Harry said, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

'What's the point?' Draco asked nonchalantly. He looked down at his bedraggled robe and swiped a leaf stubbornly clinging to the front of it. Harry just gaped, taken aback.

'What do you mean, Draco?' He said, feeling small and insignificant under Draco's now fierce glare.

'I mean, what's the point of apologising? I never understood it. It's happened, it's over, I just don't care,' he responded waspishly.

'Don't do this,' Harry pleaded. He was so tired. Why was Draco being so difficult?

'Do what, exactly?' Draco asked, giving him a look of derision. Harry shook his head. The feeling of peace now eluded him. Where had all this aggression come from? He had to make Draco understand, make him forgive Harry for leaving him.

'Stop pretending that you don't care. I know you do. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings, that I injured your pride, and that I ran away without resolving things between us,' he said as he stood up and grabbed Draco's shoulders. The Slytherin blinked and looked down at his hands, avoiding Harry's eyes.

'I'm so, so sorry, and nothing I can do will ever make up for it, but I don't ever want to go back to what we were before,' Harry continued. He shook his head at the thought of being at odds with Draco again, fighting all the time and exchanging nasty insults. They had gone too far forwards to revert back to that.

'I could never be your enemy,' Harry said softly, finishing his speech. Draco looked up at him, and Harry felt his heart clench in his chest. His silver eyes were narrowed with anger, and he glared at the brunette.

'Harry,' Draco said, 'I don't want to be your friend.' He looked away then; gritting his teeth and trying to put his blank mask back up.

'I understand,' Harry said, smiling because he truly did understand what the blonde boy was saying, or really, what he wasn't saying. He had hurt Draco's feelings when he had rejected him, and the blonde probably still thought that Harry didn't return his feelings.

He pulled out the wad of parchment from his cloak and handed the letters over to Draco, who looked down at them, more than a little confused.

'What are these?' He asked. Harry blushed and looked away, feeling uncomfortable now that the time for his big confession.

'Just… read them,' he begged, and then he whirled around, putting a few metres of distance between them. Harry was too anxious to sit still and watch as Draco read all the letters he had written to him over the past few months. He had poured out all the emotions in his heart, the same ones that now clogged his throat and chest, making it hard to breathe or talk. Everything hinged on Draco finally reading the letters.

He could hear paper rustling, presumably Draco reading letter after letter, and then a flurry of noise which made him whip around to see what had happened.

Stunned, Harry's heart dropped to his feet as the letters he had spent hours on slowly drifted to the ground around Draco. He had thrown them into the air and the look of fury on the other boys face as he crumpled the letter held in his hands made him swallow anxiously. Harry felt the need to explain the letters overwhelm him.

'I wrote to you every day. I felt horrible that I ran off, that I said those things to you. I was always thinking of you-.'

'- I'm not your plaything, Potter,' Draco cut in angrily. Harry blinked, feeling lost. Why were they back to Potter and Malfoy? He didn't understand Draco's sudden anger. Harry had apologised. Everything was supposed to be fine now, right?

'You arrogant bastard,' Draco hissed. 'You can't put me up on a shelf when it's convenient to you, so that you can run off and have your little adventure with your little friends, and then expect to come back and reclaim me like everything is ok. You're so bloody used to getting your way, Harry freaking Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the bloody war hero. I'm not your prize, I'm a person. As you so eloquently put it, yes, I do act like I don't care, but I bloody do care and I have feelings.'

Draco's cheeks were flushed and his eyes were glassy as he gasped for breath. Harry's eyes were drawn to his hands, which were at his sides, clenching and unclenching in anger and frustration. The impact of how horribly selfish he had been made his cheeks turn bright red as he flushed in embarrassment. Had he ever really stopped to consider Draco's feelings about all of this?

He stopped and actually thought about it. No, he hadn't. Not really. He'd just wanted to keep him safe.

As Draco made to leave, Harry put up a hand, halting him in his tracks.

'Wait,' Harry said quietly. 'Let me explain, properly this time.' Draco huffed in annoyance but stayed nonetheless.

'The people I… love,' he began, staring out at the pitch with a pained look, 'they tend to die, and… I was just so sick of people getting hurt… because of me.' He looked at Draco then, sincerity shining from his emerald eyes. 'I just wanted to protect you. I know I go sort of overboard, but it's because if anything happened to you… I just don't know what I'd do.'

He walked forward then, catching the other boys arm in his hand. Draco's eyes widened, but still Harry couldn't read his emotions, couldn't tell what he was feeling. Despite this, he decided to lay his heart at Draco's feet.

'What I'm saying is… I love you.'

Draco pulled his arm from Harry's grip violently and then, with a final glare, turned and left. Harry watched his back helplessly as the boy he loved walked away, out of his life.

At the top of the stairs he paused and inclined his head in Harry's direction.

'It's not enough.'

And then he was gone. Harry fell back onto the nearest seat, and put his head in his hands. What had gone so very wrong? Why did Draco walk away when Harry had finally been ready to be with him?

*** Five Years Later ***

Even after all these years, Harry still wasn't used to the constant publicity. Everyone wanted to know everything about him, where he was, what he was doing, hell, even who he was doing. Despite his best intentions, it had been impossible to hide his sexual orientation from the press when he lived so constantly in the public eye.

It had been years now since he had 'come out,' and he still got questions and requests for interviews about it. The Daily Prophet had even created a weekly column devoted to his sex life, filled with rumours of the men he was supposedly seeing. Still, he couldn't complain too much. It did get him a lot of dates. If those dates were often blonde with light blue or grey eyes, well, it was better not to dwell on the reasons why.

As he shut the door behind yet another devastatingly handsome suitor, Harry sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He was growing tired of these meaningless one-night stands, but what else could he do? The thought of possibly drawing them out into relationships made him feel queasy, because it just wouldn't feel right. They weren't right. He hadn't seen Draco in many years, but he was still the only one he could ever even think of truly being with.

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his messy raven locks, making them even more untidy. It was pointless thinking of the other man. No one had heard anything about him in a very long time.

Harry took a quick shower and got dressed before hurrying out of his large house to disapparate. If he was late meeting Hermione for lunch in Diagon Alley just one more time then she'd probably do something drastic. Especially when she would only have to glance at the Potter romance column to know why he was late.

Hands shoved in his pockets, Harry walked through the hidden entry into Diagon Alley, not paying much attention to his surroundings. Naturally, this meant he ran into someone almost immediately. Muttering an apology he continued on, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip. Annoyed, he glared up at the stranger, only for him to freeze in shock.

Time seemed to stop as they merely looked at each other. A moment passed, yet it felt like an eternity. Perfect silver stands arranged just so, those long eyelashes that dusted high cheekbones and then there were those eyes, those beautiful grey eyes that never failed to take his breath away.

'Draco?' Harry asked, his eyes greedily drinking in the sight of the other man. He looked much the same, though he had grown his hair a little longer and... Had his eyes always looked so dull and void of life?

His heart ached in his chest and he desperately wanted to bombard Draco with countless questions. Where had he been? What had he been doing? And had he missed Harry as much as he had missed _his_ blonde?

'Harry, you look well,' Draco said in a cool, clipped tone, though his hand shaking where he held Harry's arm gave away his discomposure.

'I missed you,' Harry blurted out, looking directly into Draco's lifeless grey eyes.

'Did you?' The other man queried, raising a single eyebrow in surprise. Harry nodded, and every fibre of his body ached to pull him close, especially when the blonde's lips curved into a faint smirk.

'Can we go somewhere to catch up?' Harry asked anxiously and, surprisingly Draco nodded his agreement. Harry smiled in relief and pulled a piece of paper and pen from his jacket and scrawled a quick message on it. Then, with his wand, he shaped it into a paper airplane and waved it off.

'Am I interrupting something?' Draco asked, and Harry shook his head.

'Nah, Hermione will understand,' Harry said, and then they disapparated back to Harry's home in Godric's Hollow.

They stood in the street, looking up at the house side by side.

'Is this…?' Draco asked, looking at Harry out the corner of his eye.

'Yeah, this was my Mum and Dad's house. I had it rebuilt,' he said quietly. With a quick smile at the other man, he opened the gate and led the way into the house. A few whispered spells got the kettle boiling as they sat opposite each other at the kitchen table.

'It's good to see you,' Harry said quietly. It felt like a dream, to have Draco here in his home, sitting at his table like he belonged. Draco did not seem to feel that same comfort, he looked nervous and his eyes darted around the room, taking everything in as he decidedly did not look at Harry.

'What have you been doing with yourself?' Draco asked, ignoring the comment. Harry allowed this, instead describing how he had been playing Seeker for Puddlemere United and also teaching Quidditch at Hogwarts.

'You should come watch a game sometime,' the black-haired man offered as he poured them tea. Draco smiled tightly and nodded as he added sugar to his cup and stirred before taking a sip.

'I'd like that,' he agreed. A silence fell between them then and stretched on until Harry needed to fill it.

'Where have you been all this time?' He blurted out, blushing slightly. Draco set his cup down on the table and sighed as if he had been expecting the question.

'After the war,' he began, 'they were going to put my mother under trial, and it was likely that they would find her guilty, send her to Azkaban. They needed a scapegoat and who better than the wife of a notorious Death Eater?' He laughed bitterly.

'They told me that the only way to save her was to hand in my father, so I helped to track him down, and put him in Azkaban myself,' he said, looking troubled.

'That must have been hard for you,' Harry said. Draco shrugged.

'What choice was there? My mother would never have survived Azkaban. I would have done anything to keep her out of that place.'

'I understand,' Harry said quietly.

'When the other Death Eaters found out that I'd betrayed my father again, they started targeting me. It made sense to keep helping the Aurors. It took a long time, but nearly all of them are behind bars now,' Draco finished, his voice grim with satisfaction.

'I feel a little foolish now, wasting all my time playing games,' Harry said. Draco said nothing but he didn't need to, the shame overwhelmed him anyway. 'What do you plan on doing now?' Harry asked. Draco shrugged.

'It's safe for me to go back to the Manor now, so I shall start restoring the place I expect, and get all of my father's affairs in order. It all belongs to me now anyway, seeing as how he has a life sentence,' Draco mused. Harry's heart began to race at the thought of being able to see the blonde whenever he wanted.

'Well, it's been nice seeing you again,' Draco said, rising to his feet, 'but I must get back. Mother and Astoria are expecting me.' Harry rose as well, frowning.

'Astoria? Who's that?' He questioned, feeling his heart plummet to his feet.

'Oh yes, I forgot you wouldn't have known. Astoria is my fiancée, Astoria Greengrass,' Draco informed him. All of the blood rushed from Harry's face and he slowly rose to his feet, feeling dizzy, like everything around was unreal and intangible. Draco? Getting married? To a girl?

'Wow… really?' Harry asked, dismayed. 'Well, congratulations, I guess.'

'You guess? Don't sound too enthusiastic,' Draco said sarcastically, his voice vicious and cutting Harry to the bone. His own anger rose in response.

'Well how am I supposed to feel?' Harry asked angrily. 'The last time I saw you I told you I loved you and you walked away from me.'

'I had to,' Draco said dismissively.

'Why?' Harry yelled. "Explain it to me, please, because I still don't understand.'

'Everything is just so easy for you, isn't it? You've never had to work for anything in your life,' Draco said nastily.

'You know better than that, Draco,' Harry said disapprovingly.

'What's it like up there on your high horse, Saint Potter?' Draco taunted.

'I just want to know why,' Harry said, looking distraught. Why wouldn't Draco just tell him what had gone wrong? Couldn't he see that they belonged together?

'I won't be second best to anything or anyone, Potter. I deserved better then and I deserve better now. I moved on. You should do the same,' Draco said. For the second time, the blonde turned and walked away. It didn't hurt any less than the last time, nor did it make him feel any less wretched.

It was all over the newspapers, 'Draco Malfoy returns with new fiancée in tow.' They were going to be married fairly quickly, in just a few weeks. Harry had gripped the Daily Prophet in his hands as he felt his world crash down around him.

When had it all gone so wrong? He had loved Draco, and still did. Hardly a single day had gone by when he hadn't wondered what the Slytherin had been up to, and not a single night went by without reliving their kiss. How he regretted it now that it would be the only one they would ever share.

Hermione was the first to notice his depression. He'd spent the entire week hiding away in his house, wallowing in self-pity. He'd always been rubbish at hiding things from her so when she had come by to check on him, she had immediately pushed her way in and started mothering him.

The first thing she did was to put on the kettle and then start clearing away his kitchen table. Of course, this inevitably lead to her noticing the same article that he had been despondently staring at since it had come out, only two days after Draco had stormed out of his life, again.

'Oh Harry,' she said softly, 'do you still love him?'

'Of course I do, Hermione. He's all I want,' Harry said mournfully. She poured him a cup of tea and he stared down at it, trying to hold back his tears.

'You need to let him go. He's obviously moved on now,' she said kindly. Harry shook his head.

'No, I saw him. He still has feelings for me, I know he does! He won't tell me what I did wrong, what I've done wrong again this time.' Harry buried his face in his hands. 'I don't understand.'

'Harry, all he ever wanted to feel was the he came first in your life. You can understand that, surely? It was the same reason that Ginny drifted away from you. When you love someone, you're supposed to be there for them, put them first, and make them happy. I don't think you've ever done something for like that for him.' Harry looked at her, frowning as his mind raced.

'I guess you're right, but what should I do. He can't marry her!' Harry said desperately. Hermione looked at him sadly.

'Harry, you've got to accept that it's probably too late, no matter what you do,' she said.

'I have to try,' he vowed, and his face was full of the grim determination that she remembered from Hogwarts.

A few days later he had a plan outlined, hopefully fool-proof. Originally he had planned to storm up to Astoria and demand she leave Draco. However, even he had conceded that it was an idiotic plan; she'd laugh in his face and Draco would be furious. Next he had thought he'd do an interview with the Daily Prophet or the Quibbler to declare his love, but again, he didn't think that would impress Draco or convince him that Harry truly loved him.

No, this plan was the best. He approached Draco's house slowly, disillusioned so that he could gauge the situation and see if Astoria was there. He couldn't sense her presence in the house, so he started forward only to pause again almost immediately.

There, hidden behind a tree, another disillusioned person was surveying Draco's house. Harry's instincts kicked in and he eased backwards, being sure not to make any noise. He slipped his wand out of his pocket and trained it on the unidentified person, his mind churning as he tried to decide what to do. Should he just sneak up behind him and stun him?

He decided that this was the best thing to do, and so apparated right behind the man, yelling out 'Stupefy!' It hit the person in between their shoulder blades and they toppled to the ground. Immediately a siren went off, and Harry whirled around, freaking out. He stood on the grass of Draco's front lawn, the stunned intruder at his feet, his head whipping around to find the source of the noise.

The front door opened, with only a pale hand with a wand gripped in its fingers poking out. He recognised the hand, strangely enough, though who else would be cautiously inching out of Draco's front door.

'Draco,' Harry called out. 'It's just me. Oh, and this bloke, but I dealt with him.' He nudged the person with his boot as Draco's head poked out of the front door as well.

'Potter? Is that you?' Draco called out, his eyes scanning the front yard for danger. Harry then remembered that he was still disillusioned, and so took off the spell.

'Here,' he called out, and Draco stared at him, confused.

'Harry, why did you just use offensive magic in my yard?' He asked, his eyes narrowing in distrust. Harry swiped a hand through his ebony locks, looking sheepish.

'You've got an intruder. I was just coming to talk to you and I noticed this guy lurking in your yard,' Harry explained, taking the disillusionment spell off the man at his feet. Draco stared at the unconscious man incredulously, and, ignoring his previous caution he strode forward towards Harry.

'That's my uncle, Rodolphus Lestrange. I thought he'd died years ago,' Draco said, his fists clenched into fists as he looked down at the Death Eater. 'I thought we'd got them all,' he whispered. Harry looked at him sympathetically. Rodolphus had been Bellatrix Lestrange's husband, and by association, was probably a complete creep.

'Lucky I happened along, really. That could have gotten ugly,' Harry said, feeling suddenly intensely relieved that he had decided to come here today. Who knew what might've happened?

'Thanks,' Draco nodded.

'What should we do with him?' Harry asked. They both looked down at Lestrange, hatred evident in both their eyes.

'You go and notify the Auror Office,' Draco said grimly. 'I'll stay here, restrain him properly.' Harry looked at Draco carefully.

'Are you sure?' He asked, raising one eyebrow. It wasn't that he didn't trust Draco's ability; it was just the strange way that blonde was looking at him that made Harry feel wary. Why did this suddenly feel so wrong? All of his instincts were screaming at him to stay.

Draco nodded, 'I can handle him. Go.' Despite his foreboding, Harry complied, and with one last, long look at Draco, he disapparated.

When he returned, Kingsley Shacklebolt and his top Aurors in tow, Draco's front yard was empty. His green eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he took in the sight of the front door open and swinging in the wind. He knew he should never have left Draco alone with his uncle.

Despite his previous experience in defeating Voldemort, Harry drew back and allowed the Aurors to do their job. His hero days were long gone now. However, he waited impatiently as Kingsley and his men searched Draco's large house. He sought out the Head Auror's eyes as he left the house. The tall man shook his head solemnly and walked over to Harry.

'There's no sign of Malfoy or Lestrange anywhere and no sign of any kind of scuffle,' he informed Harry.

'They were both here when I left,' Harry told him. 'That couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes ago.' He ground his teeth, frustrated. Where could they have gone?

'How did Mr Malfoy seem when you left him?' Shacklebolt asked in a low voice.

'Fine, he seemed calm,' Harry shrugged. 'I had a bad feeling though, my instincts were telling me to stay, but Draco wanted me to go and get you.'

'So tell me everything that happened, everything that you can remember.'

Harry ran through what had happened; him arriving and noticing the strange man sneaking towards the house, the spell he had put him under, Draco's surprise at seeing both of them and then his grim countenance as he told Harry to get help.

Kingsley listened and then looked back towards the house, shaking his head. 'What were you thinking, Malfoy?'

If Harry hadn't been here earlier then he wouldn't have even known that anything had happened. Even that feeling of foreboding from earlier had completely vanished. With Rodolphus stunned at his feet, what had caused that strange feeling? Suddenly it struck him.

'I don't think Lestrange was alone,' Harry burst out. Kingsley turned his attention back to Harry immediately.

'What makes you think that?' He asked urgently.

'I had Lestrange bound right in front of me but my instincts were still warning me about danger. The only thing I can think of is that there was another person there as well,' Harry explained, sure that he was right.

'That makes sense,' Shacklebolt nodded. He called his Aurors over and explained the new situation to them.

'What now?' Harry asked.

'We have a few suspects, people who may have been working with the Death Eaters but were never proved to have any involvement,' Kingsley told him. 'Go home Harry, we'll let you know as soon as we find something.'

Harry bit his lip and looked back to Draco's house. He could only hope that the man was alright. After so long with hearing nothing from the blonde, there was no way he would allow him to disappear from his life again.

**A/N: As usual I apologise for how bloody long I waited before posting. Hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter! Let me know your thoughts! See if you can guess who Rodolphus was working with ;)**


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